Como goes ape over new soap

The St. Paul zoo's star orangutan has lent her name, if not her bathing habits, to a new beauty product.

By BILL WARD, Star Tribune

August 26, 2010 at 3:36AM
Markisa is lending her name to a line of soaps.
Markisa is lending her name to a line of soaps. (Provided photo/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The Como Zoo's most famous ape has a new product bearing her name. Just don't expect her to use it.

Markisa, an orangutan that gained acclaim in 2007 for the C-section birth of son Jaya, now has a luxury organic soap named after her. The Markisa bar, made with honey and oatmeal by Colorado-based Chandler Farm, is unscented -- ahem, unlike its namesake.

Chandler Farm president Kristi Carrell said it's a great product for those with sensitive fur, er, skin. The soap is available at the St. Paul zoo's store for $6.99, with 10 percent of the proceeds going to orangutan conservation efforts.

Even if Markisa carried around cash or a credit card, she would not use her namesake cleanser. Like other apes, orangutans groom one another sans soap.

"They don't bathe. They get into a little group and pick at each other," said zoo spokesman Matt Reinartz.

He added that orangutans and other apes generally go through this ritual daily. But forget the soap.

"We have given them soapy bubble water," Reinartz said, "but instead of using it on themselves, they use it on the exhibit area."

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BILL WARD, Star Tribune