Three Bonobo chimpanzees arrived at the Great Ape Trust in Des Moines Monday after a long bus trip from Atlanta, Georgia. Al Setka is the spokesman for the research facility. He says 19-year-old Panbanisha and her two sons seven-year-old Nyota and four-year-old Nathan will be part of a research project conducted by Doctor Sue Savage-Rumbaugh. Setka says the apes made it to Des Moines without any problems. He says from everything they’ve heard, everything went as expected. The apes traveled nearly 970 miles and it took about 20 hours. Setka says the apes were purposely transported in the bus so they could see that it was a long trip and so they would know they would not be returning to their previous home. As he says, “He says from what I heard from one member of the team, the Bonobos were very excited, that was the word that was used, excited when they first saw the campus.” Setka says the apes had been told for several weeks and shown video and pictures of where they’d be going and what it would be about. Setka says the researchers will watch closely as the apes settle into their new home. He says the next few days the scientific team will work with and observe the bonobos as they get used to their new surroundings. There are six more bonobos that Setka says will be transported to Iowa in early May.
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