A male orangutan is baffling his Dutch keepers by refusing to mate with females and showing sexual interest only in tattooed human blondes.

A spokeswoman for Apenheul Primate Park was upbeat when Sibu arrived two years ago introducing the primate to its breeding male but apparently, orangutans aren't his type.

"He chases them, or ignores them, but he doesn't do what he should do," said the spokeswoman for the park.

To the surprise of the zookeepers, Sibu has shown a fancy for his female keepers, especially blondes showing a fetish for tattoos, harking back to a heavily tattooed keeper who reared him.

However, the spokeswoman said that it is ordinary for orangutans to have special interests in subjects. "Sibu happens to like tattoos," she said.

However, the park hasn't given up on the orangutan, the primate once showed an amorous interest in a female orangutan while still in England. This is giving his keepers hope he will find love when reunited with her in a new enclosure in Chester, England.