Palm Oil and Gorilla Family Trees

As part of my zoo internship it is expected, but not required, that I complete a research project to be presented to other interns and keepers at the end of my term. At first I was at a complete loss as to what I could present that wouldn't seem generic or boring. Slowly though, research projects began to emerge naturally and I have taken on two research projects that I probably would have embarked on anyway.

The first is something that I have been passionate about for a few years and have really been able to sink my teeth into: The Palm Oil Crisis. Not familiar with this crisis? That may be because you are American; we can't seem to keep up with the rest of the world when it comes to ecological awareness. Let me enlighten you:

What is palm oil?



Palm oil is the most widely produced edible oil.

It is obtained from the fruit of the African oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis).

The majority of all palm oil is grown and produced in Borneo and Sumatra.

You probably use palm every day in food, cosmetics, and bath products.

On food labels it is often called palm kernel oil, palmitate and palmitic acid.

What is wrong with palm oil?



Supply and demand is driving palm oil production to an all time high.

Each year millions of acres of rainforests in Borneo and Sumatra are cut down to plant more oil palm.

Research indicates that the current rate of rainforest habitat destruction will drive orangutans to extinction in 10 to 15 years.

What does the destruction of rainforests nearly 10,000 miles away have to do with me?



It is our consumption of palm oil that drives the destruction of the rainforest.

What can I do?



Read labels! Don’t buy anything that doesn’t use sustainable palm oil.

If it doesn’t say sustainable palm oil then it isn’t!

The preceding text is something I wrote up for a new sign that I want to have printed and displayed at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Also I am working on designing a docent program and smart phone application for the zoo to raise awareness of the palm oil crisis.

People are now saying to not completely boycott palm oil; just the non-sustainable kind. The problem with this approach is that there really isn't any sustainable palm oil on the market to speak of. Many corporations have talked big about using the stuff but have fallen short on actually doing anything. With sustainable oil costing an extra ten percent, it takes you, the consumer to make buying choices that influence the corporations to make the switch.

Europe is far far ahead of the U.S. in palm oil awareness. They have corporations lunging for sustainable or alternative oils in droves. This is simply because the masses demand it.

In America, we have the occasional company mention that they are aiming for sustainable palm oil use by the year 2015. 2015?! Many scientists are pegging the extinction of the wild orangutan in 10 years! 2015 is 40% of that window! U.S. companies could make the switch in less than a year if their costumers told them to do so. The problem is that we don't, and at this rate, we won't. Getting people to care is the easy part; getting people to care for more than five minutes is nearly impossible!

This problem with attention span is one that I hope to harness with a smart phone zoo app that will ask visitors to sign a petition to require better palm oil labeling when they pass the Palm Oil Crisis sign. At the push of a button a visitor can help make a difference before they completely forget about the issue. Hopefully the act of signing the petition will help them remember the issue the next time they go grocery shopping.

My second project is of a lighter note. Gorilla family trees! This sounds more fun than it is. It consists of pouring through the gorilla studbook and constructing a family tree for each of the seven gorillas that live at the Pittsburgh Zoo.



Knowing that he would probably be the most challenging, I began with Harry. I now see why the gorilla SSP has forbidden Harry to reproduce: his family is enormous. I began the tree construction about a week ago and I am still plugging away at it. I found that Kiazi is both Harry's half niece (on his father's side) and his half cousin (on his mother's side). Construction of this monstrosity is exhausting. I can hardly wait to make Mrithi's tree since he is second generation wild-caught.



These are both imposingly huge projects and will certainly keep me busy through the length of my internship and perhaps beyond.