The Milwaukee County Zoo has started a new program which places the iPad into the giant palms of their orangutans. Two of the zoo's organutans already look forward to weekly sessions with an iPad, reports Kotaku. They even have their own favorite apps, shows, and games.
"One of the biggest hurdles we face is that an orangutan can snap an iPad like you or I could rip cardboard," said Richard Zimmerman, executive director of Orangutan Outreach. "Even the little guys like Mahal are incredibly strong. A big male could take it apart in about five seconds." Zimmerman is looking for an orangutan-proof case before the orangutans will be allowed to have personal iPads.
iPad Enrichment Coordinator, Scott Engel, says this all started as an April Fool's joke.
"A friend of a friend who is a gorilla keeper at the zoo was half-joking about getting an iPad to use with gorillas after seeing a story in the UK Sun," he said. Engel though, 'Why not?' and contacted the zoo to pitch the idea of using his old iPad to work with the animals.
"Play is a huge component of this type of enrichment and I've found that a simple app like the camera app on the iPad is wonderful," Engel said. "The awesome thing is that when I arrive at the orangutan area, Mj and Mahal come over to see me and they seem to look forward to our enrichment sessions. The super amazing thing about the whole experience is that they don't get any reward for this - no food or treats, they just get to play. They chose to greet me and let me hang out with them. That is the best thing about it. They get to decide something. I'm just along for the ride."
Hit the link below for more photos...
Read More [via CultofMac]
"One of the biggest hurdles we face is that an orangutan can snap an iPad like you or I could rip cardboard," said Richard Zimmerman, executive director of Orangutan Outreach. "Even the little guys like Mahal are incredibly strong. A big male could take it apart in about five seconds." Zimmerman is looking for an orangutan-proof case before the orangutans will be allowed to have personal iPads.
iPad Enrichment Coordinator, Scott Engel, says this all started as an April Fool's joke.
"A friend of a friend who is a gorilla keeper at the zoo was half-joking about getting an iPad to use with gorillas after seeing a story in the UK Sun," he said. Engel though, 'Why not?' and contacted the zoo to pitch the idea of using his old iPad to work with the animals.
"Play is a huge component of this type of enrichment and I've found that a simple app like the camera app on the iPad is wonderful," Engel said. "The awesome thing is that when I arrive at the orangutan area, Mj and Mahal come over to see me and they seem to look forward to our enrichment sessions. The super amazing thing about the whole experience is that they don't get any reward for this - no food or treats, they just get to play. They chose to greet me and let me hang out with them. That is the best thing about it. They get to decide something. I'm just along for the ride."
Hit the link below for more photos...
Read More [via CultofMac]