 Book seeks to increase understanding of orangutans as sentient beings
Des Moines, Iowa – November 20, 2007 – Dr. Rob Shumaker, director of orangutan research at Great Ape Trust of Iowa, has written a 72-page photo-rich book titled Orangutans that publisher Voyageur Press describes as “at once engagingly accessible and in-depth.”
Shumaker’s natural history of orangutans delves into their behavioral habits, their endangered and critically endangered status, and what his and other scientists’ studies have revealed about how orangutans learn, think and feel.
His fascination with orangutans began when he visited the orangutan section at a zoo as a child, hardly a unique experience, but years later, he emerged as one of the world’s leading orangutan researchers. “For me, they are far more than a topic to study, or a subject to teach,” Shumaker wrote. “Orangutans have likes and dislikes, distinct personalities and varying intellectual abilities. Stated most simply, they are individuals who deserve far better treatment than our species is currently providing for them.”
 Shumaker’s scientific research at Great Ape Trust explores the abilities of orangutans to use symbols and syntax to express their thoughts. He has worked with Azy, the adult male orangutan at The Trust, for most of his professional career, first at Smithsonian National Zoological Park, where he began working as a caretaker in 1984 and was the coordinator of the National Zoo’s Orangutan Language Project when he left in 2004 to continue his scientific research at Great Ape Trust.
Shumaker said one purpose of the book is to urge conservation by increasing awareness and understanding of orangutans as sentient beings.
“Unless the present conditions are substantially changed, Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii) are predicted to be the first great ape to become extinct in recorded history,” he wrote. “This book’s job, first and foremost, is to urge orangutan conservation. Long-term preservation of sustainable wild populations of orangutans is possible, but only if we change our views of these red apes whose numbers are critically dwindling. In short, we need to understand them, and that means taking a look back, as well as a peek into the future.”
The softcover book, which includes breathtaking photos of orangutans in the wild, is available at Great Ape Trust’s online store, www.GreatApeStore.org. The book was published by Voyageur Press in North America and in Europe by Colin Baxter Photography as part of the World Life Library series.
Great Ape Trust Background
Great Ape Trust of Iowa is a scientific research facility in southeast Des Moines dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence. When completed, Great Ape Trust will be the largest great ape facility in North America and one of the first worldwide to include all four types of great ape – bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans – for noninvasive interdisciplinary studies of their cognitive and communicative capabilities.
Great Ape Trust is dedicated to providing sanctuary and an honorable life for great apes, studying the intelligence of great apes, advancing conservation of great apes and providing unique educational experiences about great apes. Great Ape Trust of Iowa is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization and is certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). |
Great Ape Trust is certified by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums
