The Visitor Bunny

Anderson Cooper and Kanzi
Kanzi and The Great Ape Trust have been in the news since they opened in 2004, including being featured on several national networks, including CNN and CBS, and in national magazines, including Time.

Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sue
 In November of 2010, CNN's Anderson Cooper, host of AC360, visited Des Moines and the Trust, interviewing Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, Kanzi, Teco, and the other bonobos.
 
Cooper began his interview with Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, discussing the program Dr. Sue has conducted for nearly forty years in an attempt to introduce language to bonobo apes.
Here Comes the Bunny!
Cooper also had the opportunity to interact with the bonobos Kanzi, Panbanisha, Nyota and baby Teco.

The interview was especially newsworthy because Anderson wore a white "bunny suit" for part of the interview.  Why?  Because the bonobos wanted him to.

I've Got Surprises!
The bunny suit is used by researchers to interact with the apes.  "Apparently, the bonobos like the bunny outfit," Cooper said on his show.  "The whole thing was surreal  I still don't know what happened.

The Great Ape scientists told Anderson that the bonobos also wanted him to give them "eggs, ice cubes, and pine needles.  I also gave them a ball and boy, oh, boy, did they love that ball."

The Great Ape Trust appeared in the cover story of Time Magazine on August 5, 2010, and was on The Oprah Winfrey Show on October 4, 2010.  Kanzi and his fellow bonobos also were featured in USA Today, CNN's American Morning, and Charlie Rose's program on PBS.
 
Click this link to see a video report on Anderson Cooper's visit at the Great Ape Trust:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsUHuurFLXM&feature=related.

"Anderson Cooper Explains His Bunny Suit | The Atlantic Wire." Tracking the Most Influential Opinion Makers and Debates in Business and Politics | The Atlantic Wire. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/features/view/feature/Anderson-Cooper-Explains-His-Bunny-Suit-2317.

"Great Ape Trust | Great Ape Trust Bonobos on Anderson Cooper 360." Great Ape Trust | Bonobos, Orangutans and the Study of Ape Language, Tools and Intelligence. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. http://www.greatapetrust.org/media-center/news-releases/great-ape-trust-bonobos-on-cnn-s-anderson-cooper-360.

"Kanzi on Time Magazine and CNN." Project GAP. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. http://www.greatapeproject.org/en-US/noticias/Show/3188,kanzi-on-time-magazine-and-cnn.