The Great Ape Heart Project

[Catherine]

Great Apes (gorillas, chimps, orangutans and bonobos) develop heart disease. It is a very common cause of death in captive populations. It is unknown whether wild populations have the same problems. Certainly captive animals live longer so there is time for heart disease to develop. It is important that they study this. It will lead to better care of the animals and it will give us a better understanding of heart disease, which we also suffer from.

They have found ways to get the animal's cooperation so they can do tests like ultrasounds.
This is a big step forward. 

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animal...rt-disease


It will take years and the input of many zoos, but the knowledge gained will benefit us all. 
They already know that diet and exercise really matter as they do for us. This is one of those times when animal research is actually being done to help the animals and it will still help us.