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WillyT

(72,631 posts)
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 07:18 PM Nov 2013

LOL... Sorry... Gotta Do It...

Bonobo apes in hi-tech German zoo go bananas for food, not TV porn
By Andy Eckardt, NBC News Producer
11/26/13


Bonobo apes watch TV as scientists study their preferences at the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. (Courtesy Wilhelma Zoo Stuttgart/ Fotograf: S. Kern)

<snip>

MAINZ, Germany – Bonobo apes living in a zoo in southern Germany now have a flat screen TV for entertainment – and a group of scientists monitoring what they watch. "With the new TV set, we wanted to provide some change and a new play tool, but at the same time, hope to study the behavior of this species a little more," said Karin Herczog, spokeswoman for the Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart.

The zoo opened a new state-of -the-art ape house in May, where gorillas and bonobos can roam more than 47,000 square feet of outdoor areas and indoor ape enclosures – 13 times the size of their previous home. The compound includes ape showers, paddling pools, hammocks, swings, a labyrinth.

Now, it also has a "Bonobo Cinema” that zookeepers and scientists have been training the apes to use. "Now, the apes have the possibility to choose what they want to watch by pushing buttons below the screen," Herczog said. "Whenever they want, they can select between five different programs."

The films are five to seven minutes long and depict typical scenes from the animal kingdom: the search for food, turbulent play scenes, aggressive Bonobo behavior and general images of life in the wild, taken from an educational documentary originally produced for children in the Congo.

While “Planet of the Apes” is not included the selection, one of the five movies shows explicit ape sex scenes. But so far, the images of copulating apes has not “turned on” any of the 15 members of the group. "Maybe they are not so interested, as Bonobo apes very often have sex anyway. Mating not only plays a role for reproduction or pleasure, but also fulfills an important social function for the animals," Herczog said.

In the past two weeks, only Banbo, a 15-year-old Bonobo ape has been spotted pushing one of the buttons repeatedly, curiously waiting for some kind of dramatic effect...


<snip>

More: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/26/21626507-bonobo-apes-in-hi-tech-german-zoo-go-bananas-for-food-not-tv-porn?lite




6 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
LOL... Sorry... Gotta Do It... (Original Post) WillyT Nov 2013 OP
WillyT, you're just evil! LadyHawkAZ Nov 2013 #1
Thank You For That !!! WillyT Nov 2013 #2
My first thought was: the cure for porn is indeed sex! LadyHawkAZ Nov 2013 #5
Hehe maddezmom Nov 2013 #3
ooooh , look how cute that ape is 4 t 4 Nov 2013 #4
Anyone who has a job they hate is "caged" too... hunter Nov 2013 #6

LadyHawkAZ

(6,199 posts)
5. My first thought was: the cure for porn is indeed sex!
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 07:50 PM
Nov 2013

My second was: in my next life, I want to be a bonobo.

4 t 4

(2,407 posts)
4. ooooh , look how cute that ape is
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 07:47 PM
Nov 2013

he looks content and happy, look at his stance his feet are so relaxed he looks content even though he is caged and shouldn't be !

hunter

(39,152 posts)
6. Anyone who has a job they hate is "caged" too...
Tue Nov 26, 2013, 08:19 PM
Nov 2013

We just don't see the bars on those cages.

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