Des Moines, Iowa – February 27, 2008 – The orangutan (Pongo spp.) Azy and bonobo (Pan paniscus) Kanzi, residents of Great Ape Trust of Iowa, are prominently featured by National Geographic magazine in the March 2008 cover story, “Inside Animal Minds: Birds, Apes, Dolphins and a Dog With a World-Class Vocabulary.”
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Orangutans such as Azy are on equal cognitive footing with African apes, surpassing them on some tasks, according to Dr. Rob Shumaker. Photo by Vincent J. Musi courtesy of National Geographic magazine. |
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Click here to read writer Virginia Morell’s article about animals’ cognitive abilities. Listen here as photographer Vince Musi introduces a host of animals whose behavior is studied to better understand how they learn – and by extension – how humans learn.
“Great Ape Trust is pleased and honored to be included in National Geographic's article on animal intelligence and language," said Al Setka, director of communications. "It conveys to readers the impressive cognitive capabilities of great apes and why it's important for us to study their behavior and intelligence."
Representatives of the magazine visited Great Ape Trust in May 2007 to photograph Azy and Kanzi and conduct interviews with Dr. Rob Shumaker, director of orangutan research, and William M. Fields, director of bonobo research.
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Researchers at Great Ape Trust are analyzing Kanzi’s vocalizations to determine if the bonobo is attempting to speak English words. Photo by Vincent J. Musi courtesy of National Geographic magazine. |
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Others of what Musi calls the “superstars of the animal cognition world” featured in the article are a New Caledonian Crow (Corvus moneduloides) at Oxford University in Oxford, U.K.; an Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.; an African Cichlid (Haplochromis burtoni) at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif.; an African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus) at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.; a Black Leicester Longwool Sheep (Ovis aries spp.) at Hopping Acres Farm in Bruceton Mills, W.V.; a Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) at the Duke University Lemur Center in Durham, N.C.; a Border Collie (Canis familiaris) in Vienna, Austria; a Giant Pacific Octopus (Octopus dofleini) and a Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Md.; a Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) at the University of Vienna, Austria; and a Western Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma californica) at Cambridge University in Cambridge, U.K.
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
