Subject Of Orangutan Mistress Touches Nerve In Thailand

    LOP BURI, Thailand (CNN) (c) -- Seven-year-old Susu is the picture of a
happy mother, carefully cradling her two-month-old boy called Monsit, the
Thai word for joy.

    The father, nine-year-old Mike, had been celibate for three years 
following the death of his partner. The arrival of Susu from Taiwan seemed
the perfect solution.

    The zoo's story of animal passion captured the country's imagination,
making the orangutans virtual superstars. The animals had a lavish wedding
ceremony last April, and a competition to name the baby drew 10,000 entries.

    But the fun has run out with the news that Mike is to have a new partner,
Malee, a Southern belle from the Malaysian border.

    The zoo director said he's lost count of the letters pouring in since the
announcement of Mike's planned infidelity.

    "Nearly all the letters from men agree that Mike should have a mistress,
but all those from women are absolutely against it," said Major Wirat
Poopeangjai.

    Malee's appearance on the scene has touched a raw nerve among Thai women
-- the "mia noi," or kept mistress.

    "It's immoral to have many wives. But in our society it has been permitted
in such a way, it's been kept secret but it's a fact we know and are not
prepared to admit," said Malee's owner Sirichok Sopha.

    "By having this issue about Malee we are actually seeing a big response
because it's a reflection of the serious nature of the problem."

    According to one wildlife expert, the male orangutan is just doing what
comes naturally.  "They are animals and they live their own lives, and it
doesn't matter if they're in a zoo or in the wild. They have their own inborn 
traits and habits, and the male orangutan is randy," said Leonie Vajjajiva of 
the Wild Animal Rescue Foundation of Thailand.