Des Moines, Iowa – November 25, 2008 – Dr. Rob Shumaker, director of orangutan research at Great Ape Trust, was an invited speaker at an international symposium, Primate Origins of Human Evolution, held Nov. 15-18 in Tokyo, Japan.

In his presentation, Shumaker outlined the ways in which the orangutan program at Great Ape Trust responds to the scientific research institute’s four-part mission to study the behavior and intelligence of great apes, actively promote the in situ conservation of great apes, advocate for the welfare of great apes in captivity, and provide unique educational experiences to a wide variety of audiences.

Shumaker also spoke on an additional goal of Great Ape Trust’s orangutan program to integrate data collected in the wild and from captivity in order to promote a more complete understanding of orangutans. For example, data collected from the wild and captivity illustrates the variability in reproductive life history among female orangutans. An integrated perspective on orangutans promotes individual welfare and enlightened care in captivity, Shumaker said.

“The symposium provided an important opportunity to present research being conducted at Great Ape Trust to our international colleagues,” Shumaker said. “Interaction with this distinguished group of academics promotes collaboration and exchange with our valued counterparts in Japan.”

The symposium was organized by the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University, supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and presented in collaboration with the Wildlife Research Center at Kyoto University. The internationally-respected group of invited speakers included Michael Seres, a chimpanzee management consultant based in the United States; Dr. Anne Russon of York University in Canada; Dr. Sri Suci Utami-Atmoko of Universitas Nasional in Jakarta, Indonesia; Dr. Melissa Emery Thompson of the University of New Mexico; Dr. Crickette Sanz of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany; Dr. Nick Mundy of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom; Dr. Vincent Janik of the University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom; Dr. Dorothy Fragaszy of the University of Georgia and Kyoto University; Dr. Tatyana Humle, Dr. Miho Inoue-Murayama and Dr. Shiro Koshima, all of the Wildlife Research Center at Kyoto University; Dr. Hiroshi Hasegawa of Toho University, Japan; and Dr. Chie Hashimoto of the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Great Ape Trust of Iowa is a scientific research facility in Des Moines dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence.  When completed, it 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 a unique educational experience about great apes.