At 315 pounds he's a big guy. And so is his love, for the petite Violet.

"They are a very committed couple, they are rarely apart more than 10, 15 feet. If he moves away, she follows him. If he moves away he follows her. So you always see them together here," says Honolulu Zoo Director, Ken Redman.

Here---in their spacious Waikiki home that cost 700-thousand dollars, far more than the median price of a single-family home on Oahu.

Rusti's attorney Sherry Broder, checks on him for the Orangutan Foundation International...after a drive to replace a bare cramped one-ape-only cage with this grassy new habitat, complete with a spreading banyan.

"And of course, Rusti can go up high and he can see the beautiful ocean and Diamond Head," says Sherry Broder, Rusti's Attorney.

Out in the zoo parking lot it's the dean of the University of Hawaii law school scraping off something unsightly.

"I guess lawyers are good at getting into scrapes and for once we're getting out of scrapes too," says Avi Soifer, Law School Dean.

Law school staff and students are helping to clean up Rusti's neighborhood as a community service. Attorney Broder is a law-school supporter and the work to improve Rusti's life inspires them, a labor of love on Valentine's Day.

With his mate at his side and his lawyer and the law school looking out for him, you might say Rusti has been able to cultivate solid relationships.

And he's got feelings and friends that'll be with him long past Valentine's Day.

Tonight the zoo is holding a fundraiser called "love gone wild," with a walking tour featuring talks on animal mating rituals. More visitors for Rusti and Violet.