A zoo in Milwaukee is encouraging orangutans to play with tablet computers to keep them entertained, while also drawing attention to their precarious plight in the wild.
The Milwaukee County Zoo said it hopes Apple iPads it will keep the animals mentally stimulated and zoo visitors may start thinking about the problems the apes face.
Orangutans, who share about 97 per cent of their DNA with humans, are facing extinction as rainforests continue to be cut down.
"When a person walks through and they can see the animals using something they have experienced using themselves, they can make an individual personal connection to that animal," said Trish Khan from the Milwaukee County Zoo.
"They are much more likely to get involved with saving these animals in the wild."
On the island of Sumatra, 70 per cent of the rainforest has been lost to logging.
The tablet computers have applications that orangutans can learn and play with. At the zoo, four-year-old Mahal likes to finger paint with one app.
The tablets, which the orangutans also watch videos on, help the animals think and keep their brains sharp while in captivity.
"So even though using a touchpad maybe seems very artificial, it helps them use that brain that they have that they would normally use navigating through the rainforest," Khan said.
In Atlanta, a zoo tried a similar program with a touch screen computer that also offered games and a painting program.
"It's just really interesting how the orangutans can adapt to something so human like."
However, the orangutans are not allowed to hold the iPads in case the powerful animals smash them to pieces.
With a report from CTV's John Vennavally-Rao
