Ant Farm Book, ON SALE: Columns: Megan Elder

Primate zookeeper Megan Elder, 29, touches the outstretched hand of Jambu, the dominant, 20-year-old, 280-pound Sumatran orangutan at the Como Zoo in St. Paul. Elder is the lead trainer of the orangutans and hopes to travel to the island of Borneo to study them in the wild.

"Jambu is my special guy. He trusts me and lets me do a lot of things that he won’t let others do. He’ll show me his hand, his belly; I’ll actually be able to touch the surface of his teeth. He’s got these huge, massive hands that could pull off my finger in a minute, but he’s very gentle.

Sometimes I lose sight of our differences because orangutans are so much like us—their personalities, their intelligence, their curiosity. If they were able to get hold of my keys they would unlock every door in the facility. They know what locks are. They check them every day. If you give a female a brush and some warm soapy water, she’ll go to town cleaning the exhibits.

It’s a privilege to be able to work so closely with these guys. I want to see them in the wld before they go extinct, to help in any way can with research and to help them survive longer. When I was a little girl, I wanted to

work with dolphins like so many others. But while I was in college, I gained an appreciation for all the other animal groups out there. I got more into conservation. Every living being on this planet somehow affects the next. We’re all connected in this whole web of life. Is that deep or what?”