Orangutan and otters get musical playing the keyboard and xylophone

Yes, that is a group of small-clawed otters taking it in turns to play the keyboard.

Zookeepers from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo decided it was time for a music lesson, placing a keyboard and a toy xylophone in reach of animals to play with.

While the otters got on well with the keyboard, Bonnie the Orangutan seemed handy at the xylophone.

The impromptu music lesson was part of an animal enrichment programme to bring more fun into the creatures’ lives, challenging and stimulating them.

The zoo is part of the Smithsonian Institution, which hosts the world’s largest museum and research complexes. It is home to around 2,000 animals of around 400 species and receives around two million visitors each year.

Difficult words: impromptu (done without being planned or prepared), species (animal kind).