The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa — When firefighters responded to an alarm at a local research center, they found no fire and one guilty ape.
A bonobo named Panbanisha pulled the fire alarm last Friday at the Great Ape Trust of Iowa, said apologetic researchers.
“It’s my understanding that she’s been told not to do it again,” Trust spokesman Al Setka said.
The fire alarm is on a wall in an area used by the apes and members of the scientific team. Panbanisha, a 25-year-old female, is one of seven bonobos at the facility, and was among the first group to arrive in April 2005. Bonobos are among the most human-like of the great apes.
Setka said Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, a lead scientist studying the behavior and intelligence of bonobos, scolded Panbanisha.
Fire department spokesman Brian O’Keefe said Monday it was the first known case of an animal setting off a fire alarm in Des Moines.
The center, on a 230-acre site, also has three orangutans.