Posted 01.03.2012 at 1:02 pm
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Orangutan iPad
An orangutan named Mahal plays with an iPad at the Milwaukee Zoo.
Orangutan Outreach
Orangutans living in captivity will soon start using iPads for primate play-dates, using Skype or FaceTime to interact with their brethren in other zoos, according to zookeepers. The great apes have been playing with iPads for about six months at the Milwaukee County Zoo, and they’ve been such a hit that other zoos plan to introduce them, too.
The “Apps for Apes” program started after a zookeeper commented online about getting some iPads for her gorilla charges. Someone donated a used iPad, and it turned out the gorillas didn’t care for it. But the orangutans loved it, as the LA Times says.
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Gadgets, Rebecca Boyle, animals, apes, apps, captivity, iPad, ipad apps, Orangutan, primates, zoosA group called Orangutan Outreach, which is involved in the Apps for Apes effort, is waiting for the iPad 3 to come out so the original iPad will become obsolete and cheaper for zoos to obtain. The Houston Zoo has one iPad but hasn’t introduced it to the orangutans yet, while Zoo Atlanta, the Toronto Zoo and the Phoenix Zoo are waiting to get iPads. When they do, zookeepers across the institutions plan to set up play-dates when the apes can chat via Skype or FaceTime.
Seeing the primates with iPads has an effect on zoo visitors, according to Richard Zimmerman, who directs Orangutan Outreach: “They have this recognition that these are amazing, cognitive, curious creatures,” he told the Times.
Dolphins have been using iPads since their debut, so it’s really about time our primate cousins adopted the technology.
Doodle: Orangutan Outreach
[via Extreme Tech]
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I think that your stories are great I read them all the time for my seventh grade current event I do weekly and I always think they are interesting. Thank you for writing these stories.
Planet of the Apes officially starts here, ha
Perspective and intention is often a misinterpreted problem with us humans. Tying to understand the minds of these orangutans definitely is a challenge.
As these orangutans scribble about on a tablet, how do we have a clue of it's meaning and intention? Additionally, they can be poor artist too, making our understanding even harder.
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Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
Please pass word on to the zoos that the original iPad does not have a camera for facetime or skype, so they should get the iPad2 when it is discounted. Also, i would watch hours of video of orangutans facetiming. please post to youtube.
How do we know they know they are using it rather than just doing things and not have the concept that they are causing it? This shouldn't be surprising. Research has shown that many animals have used various tools for things. Crows have used sticks to fish for bugs in holes, cats and dogs can use door knobs to open doors, etc.
Science always asks "can we," but doesn't seem to ask "should we."
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