New machine designed by Georgia Tech students lets Zoo Atlanta take gorilla blood pressure

Associated Press

Last update: November 11, 2009 - 5:57 AM

Print this story

More from Nation

ATLANTA - One of the gorillas at Zoo Atlanta has been under pressure lately. Zoo keepers, along with undergraduate students from Georgia Tech and reseachers from Emory University, got a western lowland gorilla named Ozzie to voluntarily have his blood pressure taken by a machine students designed called the Gorilla Tough Cuff. Zoo officials say it's the first time a gorilla has ever voluntarily had its blood pressure taken in any zoo in the world.

Zoo keepers trained Ozzie for months on how to use the cuff before he did it on his own. Zoo officials say the machine can be used to detect heart problems in aging gorillas like Ozzie, who is 48 years old.

___

On the Net:

Zoo Atlanta: http://www.zooatlanta.org

Recent Nation stories

National 'Day of Outrage' takes aim at gun violence, crime in US cities - November 11, 2009

National 'Day of Outrage' takes aim at gun violence, crime in US cities - Residents of a broken north St. Louis neighborhood called Monday for a restoration of hope and dignity, and in Atlanta, the Rev. Al Sharpton declared war on community violence and drug dealers. More