Orangutans At Miami Zoo Use iPad to Select Their Lunch

Communicating with our furry primate cousins? There's an app for that.

Zookeepers at the Jungle Island Zoo in Miami, FL, are using iPads to converse with the orangutans in their facility. And, as you can see from the video below, the first order of business is what the great apes would like to eat for lunch.

According to zookeeper Linda Jacobs, the orangutans have "all the intelligence they need to really communicate with us, but what they don't have is developed vocal chords and voice boxes."

Jacobs hopes to eventually have zoo visitors converse with the apes by setting up interactive screens that sync with the iPads.

Or course there is the question of whether we really want to know everything orangutans are thinking. It's one thing to have them choose between carrots and beets. But what if, when the lines of communication are made even more fluid, the apes start demanding filet mignon and whiskey? That's going to be awkward and expensive.