Apps for Apes
One of the selling points of the iPad is its intuitive interface. On the sales floor, I am able to demonstrate a feature of the iPad and most customers are able to replicate my actions immediately. As the poet says: “Monkey see, monkey do.”
Now, some non-human primates are being given access to the iPad and they are also proving to be quick studies.
The Milwaukee Zoo received a donated iPad after the gorilla keeper posted on Facebook that she would like to obtain some iPads for the gorillas to use. She claims she was not completely serious, but a friend took the request seriously and provided the iPad. The gorillas were not interested because of their stoic nature, according to Jan Rafert, curator of primates and small mammals at the zoo, but the orangutans went crazy for it (which goes to show you that even if the first primate doesn’t work out, there’s an ape for that).
Under the careful supervision of their keeper (the apes are strong enough to snap the iPad in half) the orangutans have been using the iPads to use apps such as Doodle Buddy and watch videos. Reportedly, one of the orangutans is particularly fond of David Attenborough’s BBC nature programs. The rest of the orangutans seem to enjoy a wide variety of videos, but movies of other orangutans have been the biggest hit.
This fascination with videos of other orangutans has inspired the zookeepers and they plan to obtain iPad 2s, and when Zoo Atlanta, the Toronto Zoo and the Phoenix Zoo also get them, they plan on setting up FaceTime chats between the apes at the different zoos. The non-profit Orangutan Outreach is also involved in this project and they hope to “eventually incorporate the devices into rescue and rehabilitation centers in Indonesia in order to allow orangutans in zoos to communicate with their semi-wild cousins.”
If you want to communicate with your semi-wild cousins, FaceTime is available over Wi-Fi on all current Macs and iDevices (iPad, iPhone and iPod touch).