UK Zoo Offers Redheads Free Admission on International Orangutan Day

Blondes might have more fun, but on August 19, redheads can ape out for free at the Twycross Zoo near Birmingham, England. The zoo is waiving the admission fee for all redheads in honor of International Orangutan Day, Konbini reports, even if attendees weren't born with high levels of pheomelanin, the pigment that gives hair follicles that vibrant hue.

International Orangutan Day, an annual observance, was created to bring more attention to the great ape species and educate the public on ways that they can help protect it. According to the Twycross Zoo, orangutans of Borneo and Sumatra, as well as other species, are being pushed out of their homes as forests are cleared for oil palm plantations.

The zoo houses four Bornean orangutans and hopes that, by extending the admission offer to human redheads, more people will visit the zoo to learn about and help the apes.

"Of all the days in the calendar, International Orangutan Day seems most fitting to come together and unite to help spread the word of the endangerment of orangutans," Emma Kelly, founder of the redhead blog Ginger Parrot, told the Nottingham Post. "They're our ginger pals; not just because humans share 97 percent of their DNA with them. Redheads need to stick together, after all!"

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