PHOTO BY JAMES AMERSON


Pongo smiles from his large enclosure at the Center for Great Apes. Now 18 and 240 pounds, founder Patti Ragan fell in love with the orangutan when she cared for him as an infant.

PHOTO BY CASSIE JACOBY


Communications and development coordinator Casey L. Taylor calls the Center for Great Apes her "happy place."

PHOTO BY JAMES AMERSON


Large enclosures house 43 chimpanzees and orangutans in a lush, rainforest-like setting at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula.

PHOTO BY COLLEEN REED


The late Michael Jackson's former pet, Bubbles, shares a banana with Stryker at the Center for Great Apes in Wauchula. The 180-lb., 26-year-old chimp could live to be 50-60 years old.

PHOTO BY JAMES AMERSON


An orangutan named Pongo inspired Patti Ragan to create the Center for Great Apes.

PHOTO BY JAMES AMERSON


Wauchula's Center for Great Apes has chutes throughout the forest canopy to allow apes the freedom of choice to visit a variety of large enclosures.

PHOTO BY COLLEEN REED


10-year-old Kodua starred in the CareerBuilders ad in the 2004 Super Bowl. Now she lives with her grandmother Oopsie, her birth mother Jessie, and her aunt Boma. She plays constant games with her brother, Stryker, as well as the adult males in her group, Bubbles, and her father, Ripley.

PHOTO BY COLLEEN REED



10-year-old Kodua starred in the CareerBuilders ad in the 2004 Super Bowl. Now she lives with her grandmother Oopsie, her birth mother Jessie, and her aunt Boma. She plays constant games with her brother, Stryker, as well as the adult males in her group, Bubbles, and her father, Ripley.