An orangutan works with an IPAD at Jungle Island in Miami
AP
The 8-year-old twins love their iPad. They draw, play games and expand
their vocabulary. Their family's teenagers also like the hand-held
computer tablets, too, but the clan's elders show no interest.
The orangutans at Miami's Jungle Island apparently are just like people
when it comes to technology. The park is one of several zoos
experimenting with computers and apes, letting its six orangutans use an
iPad to communicate and as part of a mental stimulus program. Linda
Jacobs, who oversees the program, hopes the devices will eventually help
bridge the gap between humans and the endangered apes, reports The
Associated Press.
"Our young ones pick up on it. They understand it. It's like, 'Oh, I
get this,'" Jacobs said. "Our two older ones, they just are not
interested. I think they just figure, 'I've gotten along just fine in
this world without this communication-skill here and the iPad, and I
don't need a computer.'"
Jacobs said she began letting the orangutans use iPads last summer,
based on the suggestion of someone who had used the devices with
dolphins. The software was originally designed for humans with autism
and the screen displays pictures of various objects. A trainer then
names one of the objects, and the ape presses the corresponding button.
The devices have been a great addition to the enrichment programs
Jungle Island already does with the orangutans, Jacobs said. Keepers
have long used sign language to communicate with them. Using their
hands, the orangutans can respond to simple questions, identify objects
and express their wants or needs. The apes can also identify body parts,
helping the trainers care for them and even give them shots.
"We're able to really monitor their health on a daily basis," Jacobs
said of the need for communication with the orangutans. "We can do daily
checks. If somebody's not feeling well, we know it immediately."
While Jacobs and other trainers have developed strong relationships
with the orangutans, the iPad and other touchscreen computers offer an
opportunity for them to communicate with people not trained in their
sign language.
"wait a minute am still dumb founded, so these orangutans can listen to jamz on itunes and more" kai Oyinbo lol...stay tunned for more!! Because dannydigitcommand-pr has to go deep on this one lmao
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