Rocky was transferred to Des Moines from the Los Angeles area where he was used in television commercials and photo shoots. He came to Great Ape Trust of Iowa as the most visible orangutan in entertainment today.

Des Moines, Iowa – July 29, 2008 – Katy and Rocky are spending more time together as they settle in to life at Great Ape Trust of Iowa, the California orangutans' new home.

Katy, 19, and Rocky, 3, are part of a group of orangutans who were formerly owned by a private company that specialized in providing trained animals for entertainment and advertising. They appeared in Hollywood films, television commercials and magazine advertisements and are now being relocated to Great Ape Trust.

The two new Great Ape Trust residents are mother and son, but did not live together before their move to the Des Moines, Iowa, scientific research institute studying great ape behavior and mental abilities. Their reintroduction about a week after their July 12 arrival went smoothly, said Dr. Rob Shumaker, Great Ape Trust's director of orangutan research and the driving force behind the orangutans' relocation to Des Moines.

Katy is one of six orangutans who will be moving to Great Ape Trust from the Los Angeles area by the first of next year.

Shumaker said Katy, who lived with other adult orangutans in California, is "completely casual" about sharing space with Rocky. "She has been playful and very tolerant toward him, and there have been no signs of aggression," he said.

Given Katy's personality, Shumaker and his staff do not expect any problems.

"I try not to generalize about orangutans," Shumaker said. "You always have to consider the individual. Not all females would readily accept a 3-year-old.

"This is a great illustration of what a kind, gentle individual Katy is," he said. "It makes us optimistic for future introductions to Azy, Knobi and Allie. There's nothing I know about any of these individuals that causes me any concern."

Longtime orangutan residents Azy, a 30-year-old male; Knobi, a 28-year-old female; and Allie, a 13-year-old female, are occupying other parts of their spacious, vertical home during the 30-day acclimation period, a standard animal husbandry practice, which will end in mid-August. For now, Katy and Rocky are living together full-time.

During his two weeks at Great Ape Trust, Rocky has shown himself to be a typical young male orangutan. "He is very high-energy, constantly in motion and constantly playing," Shumaker said. "I expect that he is going to have a wonderful time with Azy."

Azy has spent time with other young orangutans and has developed gentle, playful relationships with them. "We've already seen him offer some play solicitations toward Rocky from a distance," Shumaker said.

Rocky was transferred to Des Moines from the Los Angeles area where he was used in television commercials and photo shoots. He came to Great Ape Trust of Iowa as the most visible orangutan in entertainment today.

The new residents will also be given the opportunity to collaborate with scientists as they explore the orangutans' behavior and intelligence.

"We have to be very realistic about working with Rocky at this point. He is only 3, and we can't expect him to do things that, developmentally, he is unable to do," Shumaker said. "He is physically very capable, but mentally, he's still a baby."

Shumaker expects Katy, who he called "a remarkably engaged and extremely attentive individual," to be eager to collaborate with scientists. "Katy has no history of cognitive testing, but had to learn a large number of things in her life in entertainment," he said. "We're interested in seeing the impact that will have on how she might approach cognitive tasks."

More orangutans from this group will arrive at Great Ape Trust before the end of the year. When the transfer is complete, Great Ape Trust's orangutan population will triple from three to nine.

In addition to scientific research, Great Ape Trust's mission focuses on the well-being of captive apes, the conservation of wild apes and to providing unique educational experiences about apes.  A survey conducted of visitors to Great Ape Trust and cited in Science magazine (March 14, 2008) showed that the appearance of apes in advertising and entertainment negatively influenced the general public's perception of the conservation status of apes in the wild.

Great Ape Trust facilities include the three-story orangutan home and a spacious outdoor enclosure where the orangutans have 24-hour access throughout spring, summer and fall.  In addition, a 3-acre wooded yard – the largest in North America – will be available to them.

"While we have the space to comfortably accommodate the orangutans for the next year, we are moving forward with a fundraising campaign to construct additional orangutan facilities on our 230-acre campus," Shumaker said.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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).