Des Moines, Iowa – February 26, 2009 – Visiting Azy and Kanzi is about to get easier - and you can thank the Floods of '08 for it. As many people throughout Iowa and across the country can attest, getting a tour of Great Ape Trust has been one of the toughest tickets around and younger children were not included. That will change this spring because of flooding in 2008.
Last June, floodwaters inundated Great Ape Trust and left behind nearly $1.5 million in damages, including the loss of our four administrative buildings. One of those structures served as a classroom for one-hour orientations that were provided visitors. Since those classroom presentations are not possible this season, Great Ape Trust officials restructured the member tours to allow visitors more time with the resident apes. A full three hours this year will be devoted to the campus experience.
This expanded visit on selected Membership Days will include interpretive programs about Great Ape Trust’s scientific research as well as introductions to the orangutans and bonobos. Other new features visitors will see this year are the 3-acre orangutan forest and the bonobo yard. The Trust also has three new orangutan residents to introduce to visitors: Popi, Katy and 4-year-old Rocky.
To better accommodate children this year, and because the hour-long classroom portion had to be discontinued, Great Ape Trust removed age requirements and developed a household membership level for families. Once-a-month Membership Days have also been scheduled on Saturdays to accommodate more visitors.
Dates for the Membership Days and other details will be announced in March. Look for details on The Trust’s Web site, GreatApeTrust.org, via e-alerts and in the local media.
As in past years, visitors will need a current membership to Great Ape Trust to register for a tour on the selected Membership Days. Memberships support the Great Ape Trust public visitation program as well as the scientific and conservation efforts of The Trust.
Background Information
Great Ape Trust is a scientific research facility in Des Moines, Iowa, dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence, and to the preservation of endangered great apes in their natural habitats. Announced in 2002 and receiving its first ape residents in 2004, Great Ape Trust is home to a colony of seven bonobos involved in noninvasive interdisciplinary studies of their cognitive and communicative capabilities. To learn more about Great Ape Trust, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, go to GreatApeTrust.org, BonoboHope.org, www.facebook.com/GreatApeTrust or www.twitter.com/GreatApeTrust.
