It's A Great Apes Awareness Weekend ~ This Friday - Sunday!

Media Alert
November 8, 2016
Contact: Matt Reinartz
matt.reinartz@stpaul.gov
651.487.8294 (o)
651.248.9836 (c)

 

Reacquaint Yourself with a Distant Cousin at Como

Orangutans are considered one of the closest living relatives to humans, sharing 97 percent of the same DNA, yet their rainforest habitat is continuously being destroyed by illegal logging, mining, farming, and palm oil plantations. Despite formally protected status, the wild orangutan continues to be a critically endangered species and could soon become extinct in the wild. On November 11, 12 & 13, from 10am - 4pm, find out how to help these magnificent animals during Como Park Zoo & Conservatory’s Great Ape Awareness Weekend.

Learn about these amazing creatures first hand with a weekend full of special activities. There will be orangutan zoo keeper talks, banana gardener talks, crafts, and games. Kids can see how they measure up to an orangutan by comparing their arm span against a 7 foot orangutan cut out.

On Saturday, November 12 Garden Safari Gifts will host the book signing launch of “Casey’s Great Escape” by Nancy Shaw- author, and DC Ice-illustrator. Nancy will read the book for Como’s Story Time at noon. Purchase this just published book at Garden Safari Gifts for $18.95. Beginning readers will love this rhythmical, rhyming story of Casey’s Great Escape, told from the point of view of one adventurous gorilla. The author will be donating 10% of sales to Como's Gorilla Forest.

On Sunday, November 13 at 12:30pm there will be a free and open-to-all special program in our Auditorium featuring Zookeeper Megan Elder, a particularly influential figure in the world of orangutan conservation. Megan is the Vice Chair of the Orangutan Species Survival Plan (SSP) management program for North American zoos accredited through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). She is also the International Orangutan Studbook Keeper for the World Association of Zoos & Aquariums (WAZA). Megan will discuss breeding in zoos along with her field work in Borneo.

Daily at 10:15am the great apes will participate in a special enrichment activity. Enrichment activities enhance zoo environments for animals, stimulating them to investigate and interact with their surroundings. Como Zoo enriches animal environments by making changes to structures in their enclosures, presenting novel objects and smells for them to investigate and explore, and by changing how we present food to them. It encourages them to forage, hunt and handle their food in ways that are natural to them in the wild.

Recycle your cell and small handheld electronic device! Como has set up a permanent collection point to collect and recycle unwanted cell phones and handheld electronic devices. All items collected will be sent to Eco-Cell and Como will received funds for each donated item. The funds raised will go to orangutan conservation projects that help preserve one of the most critically endangered species on earth, the orangutan. Como now also accepts

• cell phone accessories
• iPods and MP3 players
• handheld game systems
• handheld gps units
• laptops
• e-readers
• portable hard drives
• Ink Jet Cartridges

Historically, orangutans were found throughout Southeast Asia and even as far north as China. But today with the rapid decline of their rainforest homes, orangutans live only on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. It is estimated that suitable orangutan habitat in Malaysia and Indonesia has declined by more than 80 percent in the last two decades.

According to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme in February 2007, the spread of palm oil plantations and illegal logging to the national parks in Indonesia constitutes a conservation emergency for the critically endangered orangutan. Palm oil is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to trans fats, and is found in one of 10 supermarket products, including margarine, baked goods, sweets, detergents and lipsticks. There is also an increasing market for vegetable oil as a renewable fuel (biofuel), in response to the need to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions, and palm oil is currently considered the most productive source of biodiesel fuel. Organizations like the United Nations Environment Programme and the Indonesian government are working to find economically and environmentally responsible solutions.

Como Zoo is currently home to five orangutans and eight gorillas. Sponsorship of Como's Great Apes is available through Como Friends and makes a great gift!

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