Ohio orangutan gets newer birth control device

[January 26, 2012]  CLEVELAND (AP) -- A Cleveland Clinic women's health specialist has made a house call at the zoo to demonstrate how to fit an orangutan with a newer brand of implanted birth-control device.

The Plain Dealer reports (http://bit.ly/xTqClI) the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Kitra (KEE'-tra) is the first orangutan in North America to get the device called Implanon. It's about 1 1/2 inches long, slightly thicker than pencil lead and meant for humans.

General Curator Geoffrey Hall says the zoo doesn't want the Bornean orangutan to breed, at least not now. The procedure by Dr. Judith Volkar went well and the animal was back on her feet within hours.

A spokesman says Kitra had previously been fitted with an implanted device commonly used by the zoo, but developed a negative reaction.

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Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com/

[Associated Press]

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