With a program called Apps for Apes, zoos across the nation are allowing orangutans to experiment with iPads. At least twelve zoos across the U.S. and Canada are currently part of the program.
Richard Zimmerman, founding director of Orangutan Outreach, said to Reuters, "We're finding that, similar to people, they like touching the tablet, watching short videos of David Attenborough for instance, and looking at other animals and orangutans."
Orangutans, which are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, are provided with access to the tablets twice weekly and typically spend 15 minutes to a half hour using different apps. The apps they use are typically geared towards children and include things like painting, music and memory games.
The monkeys watch YouTube videos and play games and the time allotted really depends on their behavior and attention span.
"It's a lot like when we're showing children pop-up books," said Zimmerman
He adds that the tablets add enrichment for the animals that are enclosed all day. Zookeepers handle the tablets, because they are fragile, as the animals experiment with the touchscreen.
The apps could also become a good way for the orangutans to better communicate with humans.
The program aims to raise awareness about the threat the animals face as endangered species due to deforestation and the expansion of palm oil plantations. "We're hoping that in that moment we can make a breakthrough with (zoo visitors] and say, 'Listen, these are beautiful animals that are obviously curious and intelligent and not too far from us and this is what they're dealing with in the wild,'" said Zimmerman.
The program currently runs on donated iPads and will be expanding to Australia, Japan, Europe and New Zealand.
Check out this video of the orangutans using the iPads:
Monkey's have a fascination with technology. One example, is when a visitor at the zoo took out is iPhone and put a front facing camera in front of the glass. The orangutans and monkeys were so interested in their reflection they got extremely close to the glass and made this interesting video that went viral:
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
