The orangutan Knobi travels through the outdoor tunnel Tuesday after she, Azy and Allie were given access to part of their outdoor space for the first time in nearly a week. Great Ape Trust photo

A week after floodwaters overtook campus, ape homes clean and dry

Des Moines, Iowa – June 18, 2008 – In the campaign to reclaim the Great Ape Trust of Iowa campus from Des Moines River floodwaters, Tuesday was huge.

Orangutans Azy, Knobi and Allie calmly ventured outside for the first time in nearly a week, traveling through the outdoor tunnel to enjoy the warm June sun. Indoors, their home was “as clean as the day we moved in,” said Dr. Rob Shumaker, director of orangutan research. Research is resuming, and the orangutan Allie received a physical therapy session to assist in her continuing recovery from a neurological condition.

“Tuesday was a giant step back to normal life,” Shumaker said. “As far as we are concerned, it was a normal day for the apes.”

Bonobo caretaker T.J. Kasperbauer fuels the power washer he used to clean the bonobo building. Great Ape Trust photo

Such normalcy hardly seemed possible four days earlier, when the Des Moines River reached its crest and water seeped into the orangutan and bonobo homes, flooding them with two feet of dirty river water. Ape caretakers, buildings and grounds personnel, public safety officers, scientists and administrative leaders kept around-the-clock vigils pursuing twin priorities: keeping the apes comfortable and safe while at the same time managing the floodwaters inside buildings at levels that provided maximum stabilization for the ape homes, which are built on floating concrete slabs.

The sunroom, or “greenhouse,” where the bonobos spend much of their time, is white-glove clean, too, and ready for the apes’ use as soon as electrical and ventilation issues can be resolved. Electricians are working on the problem now, with the expectation that bonobos will be able to access the greenhouse yet this week. In the meantime, the bonobos are spending time in the 25-foot towers, from which used fire hoses are suspended to simulate the vines wild bonobos swing from to move from place to place.

Director of Bonobo Research William M. Fields and Shumaker both say there’s no better word than “heroic” to describe the effort of employees who have worked tirelessly to clean and disinfect the interior ape spaces so orangutans and bonobos can have more choices on where they spend their time. In addition to the floors, walls and other interior spaces, each wire in the mesh walls was meticulously cleaned with disinfectant, a solvent transported by the boatload to the ape homes. Their work has been unpleasant, as anyone who has cleaned up from a flood can attest, but their resolve stronger.

The greenhouse, as the sunroom is called, is ready for the return of the bonobos. Great Ape Trust photo

“They are like no other staff I’ve had,” Fields said. “They have just been magnificent. They have done everything I have asked them to do without question, and have been cheerful and supportive.”

Shumaker said he runs short of superlatives when he talks about the cleanup effort. “I don’t think there’s a more appropriate word than heroic to describe these folks, who have worked tirelessly and are extremely dedicated,” he said. “They’ve all had great positive attitudes.”

The lines between the orangutan and bonobo teams – indeed, all departments at Great Ape Trust – have been blurred in a week that tested the mettle of employees throughout the organization. “Great Ape Trust is unbelievably fortunate to have this group of people working here,“ Shumaker said. “That’s the silver lining in all of this: We’ve identified where our major strengths are.”

Scientists also credit the apes themselves for the return to normal day-to-day operations. Sentient beings, they instinctively climbed to higher ground when water seeped into their homes – in the case of the orangutans, Shumaker said, using the top 27 feet of their home instead of the bottom three.

“Their hands and feet were never wet, and that speaks to how sensible and logical they are,” he said. “It was an anxious, stressful time for us, but we didn’t see that reaction in the orangutans.”

In the bonobo home, language-competent apes Kanzi, Panbanisha and Nyota used lexigram symbols to communicate their understanding of the flooding to scientists and researchers, which Fields said validates scientists’ ongoing research trajectory. “When they were frightened and afraid, we could tell them what would happen,” Fields said. “We told Kanzi everything would be all right, and we counted on him to communicate that to the others.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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).