Patti Ragan- Founder of The Center For Great Apes

Our guest is Patti Ragan–founder of The Center For Great Apes, a 100-acre sanctuary in Wauchula, FL which houses 40+ chimpanzees (including Michael Jackon’s old pal Bubbles) and the country’s largest gathering of orangutans.

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Bubbles the chimpanzee

Ragan discusses some of the actual traits and stories attendant to captive apes as opposed to the sometimes sensationalized or otherwise warped media accounts about them; explains the protocol for when new chimps or orangutans arrive at the Center, including an initial period of quarantine; recounts her unlikely path to founding the Center nearly two decades ago; describes a typical day for the Center apes, which includes lots of fruits, vegetables, enrichment and fresh linens!; annual costs involved in feeding and caring for the animals, and more. [www.CenterForGreatApes.org]

COMEDY CORNER: Eddie Izzard’s “Birds” (snippet) (www.EddieIzzard.com)

MUSIC: The Bad Plus’ “Rhinoceros Is My Profession,” Franz Ferdinand’s “The Lobster Quadrille,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Jerry Goldsmith’s “Theme From Planet Of The Apes”