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["Josh Greenman" <josh.greenman AT gmail.com>]

http://www.greatapetrust.org/media/releases/2008/nr_45a08.php

Great Ape Trust of Iowa To Provide Home For Orangutans From
Entertainment Industry

Relocation of entertainment orangutans from Los Angeles area to Des
Moines great ape facility draws praise from ape experts

Des Moines, Iowa – July 16, 2008 – A group of orangutans who appeared
in Hollywood films, television commercials and magazine advertisements
is being relocated to Great Ape Trust of Iowa – a significant move
that begins to close the curtain in the United States on the
decades-long use of orangutans in the entertainment industry. Great
Ape Trust, a scientific research facility in Des Moines, Iowa
dedicated to the study of primate intelligence and behavior, will
triple its orangutan population from three to nine.

The first of the new residents, 3-year-old Rocky and his 19-year-old
mother Katy, arrived safely at Great Ape Trust on Saturday, July 12,
from the Los Angeles area, where they had been privately owned by
Steve Martin's Working Wildlife, co-owned by Steve and Donna Martin.
Their company specializes in providing trained animals for
entertainment and advertising.

In discussions with Dr. Robert Shumaker, director of the orangutan
research program at Great Ape Trust, the Martins decided to donate
these orangutans to The Trust and discontinue their use of orangutans
in entertainment.

"The owners are the sole supplier of entertainment orangutans on the
West Coast and they are ending this practice," said Dr. Shumaker. "I'm
extremely gratified the Martins and Great Ape Trust are in such strong
agreement about the future of these orangutans, and we look forward to
working with them throughout this transition period."

Steve Martin said he believes the orangutans will have a good quality
of life at Great Ape Trust. "You can tell they are going to have a
wonderful home here," he said. "We are extremely happy to see the
facility and the upgrade in their socialization opportunities."

Lori Perkins, chair of the Orangutan Species Survival Plan and
director of animal programs at Zoo Atlanta, calls the agreement a
significant event with wide-ranging implications.

"I'm thrilled for orangutans and by what Dr. Shumaker and Great Ape
Trust have been able to accomplish. This can only happen when you
forge relationships," said Perkins. "One of Rob's real strengths is
being able to build bridges with different animal communities, where
everyone has a different perspective, by looking at issues
passionately and finding common bonds. The species wins and these
orangutans win. You can't beat that – it's a home run."
Great Ape Trust

Rocky comes to Great Ape Trust as the most visible orangutan in the
entertainment industry in the United States today, having appeared in
numerous television commercials and magazine layouts. The agreement to
transfer Rocky and the other entertainment orangutans to Great Ape
Trust has drawn praise from ape experts and animal welfare groups
across the country that have been battling the issue for decades.

"This industry is a relic from a bygone era of entertainment, and it
sends a signal to filmmakers loud and clear: Our world is intelligent
enough and compassionate enough to know that you don't have to use
these animals," said Doug Cress, vice president of development for the
Orangutan Conservancy in Portland, Ore.

In addition to scientific research, Great Ape Trust's mission focuses
on the well-being of captive apes, the conservation of wild apes and
to providing unique educational experiences about apes. A survey
conducted of visitors to Great Ape Trust and cited in Science magazine
(March 14, 2008) showed that the appearance of apes in advertising and
entertainment negatively influenced the general public's perception of
the conservation status of apes in the wild.

"Using nonhuman primates in entertainment venues like films,
television and advertisements certainly doesn't enhance public
attitudes toward their conservation, and doesn't get across the
message about their precarious situation in the wild," Perkins said.
"This is a very serious situation involving a species on the brink of
extinction. Weigh that against the idea of having these magnificent
creatures performing for our amusement, and it's a pretty sharp
contrast between entertainment and what's happening to their
counterparts in the wild."

Rocky and Katy will join Azy, a 30-year-old male, Knobi, a 28-year-old
female and Allie, a 13-year-old female – the current participants in
the orangutan research program at Great Ape Trust. The two new
residents will undergo a 30-day acclimation period that will be
followed by introduction to the other orangutans.

"One of the most challenging aspects of behavioral and cognitive
research with captive apes is small sample size – larger numbers of
apes is always beneficial," Shumaker said. "This diverse group of
orangutans will dramatically increase the potential of our scientific
research, specifically helping us to better understand individual
variation and styles of learning. Given that all of our research is
voluntary on the part of the apes, my colleagues and I look forward to
designing studies that are interesting and intriguing for these
important individuals. We expect significant new insights by
collaborating with these orangutans."

Four of the remaining orangutans will be transferred from California
in the coming months and subsequent moves will be timed carefully. "We
think doing this gradually is in the best interest of all the
orangutans, including our current residents Azy, Knobi and Allie,"
Shumaker added.

Great Ape Trust facilities include the three-story orangutan home and
a spacious outdoor enclosure where the orangutans have 24-hour access
throughout spring, summer and fall. In addition, a 3-acre wooded yard
– the largest in North America – will be available to them.

"While we have the space to comfortably accommodate the orangutans for
the next year, we are moving forward with a fundraising campaign to
construct additional orangutan facilities on our 230-acre campus,"
Shumaker said.