Ohio orangutan 1st in US with birth control device
Jan 25, 2012, 5:28 PM
CLEVELAND (AP) – An orangutan at a Cleveland zoo has become the first such animal in North America to receive an implanted birth control device.
The Plain Dealer reports (
http://bit.ly/xTqClI) that a Cleveland Clinic women’s health specialist made a house call at the zoo Tuesday to demonstrate how to implant the contraceptive. It’s about 1 1/2 inches long, slightly thicker than pencil lead and is meant for humans.
General curator Geoffrey Hall says the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo doesn’t want the young Bornean orangutan named Kira to breed, at least not yet. The procedure went well, and Kira was back on her feet within hours.
In exchange for her help, the Clinic’s Dr. Judith Volkar was given a backstage tour of the zoo’s more exotic animals and got to sit on a giant tortoise.
___
Information from: The Plain Dealer,
http://www.cleveland.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
