Wikimedia, EvanmacleanAn ape research facility in Des Moines, Iowa, has reinstated a controversial researcher following an internal investigation into claims that she was not properly looking after the bonobos in her care.
In September, the Iowa Primate Learning Sanctuary (IPLS) placed then executive director Susan Savage-Rumbaugh—a pioneer in human-ape communication—on administrative leave and launched an investigation after former employees alleged that her behaviour put the apes at risk. The 12 whistleblowers accused Savage-Rumbaugh of allowing incestuous copulations between the apes, forgetting where she had left the apes, locking them outside without access to water for hours at a time, and exposing them to people without the necessary vaccinations, among other allegations.
Earlier this month (November 6), an adult female called Panbanisha died of a respiratory illness, which prompted anthropologist Barbara King of William and Mary College—who has spent time with the apes at IPLS—to write to the sanctuary’s board expressing her concerns about Savage-Rumbaugh’s management.
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