Morgan Dziubinski never had the opportunity to meet Kanzi.
She was inspired by him nonetheless.
Kanzi was a world-renowned bonobo who resided at the Ape Initiative in Des Moines. Sadly, Kanzi passed away in March before Dziubinski, a third-year veterinary medicine student, began a summer research project in the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“I’ve heard countless, wonderful stories about Kanzi’s personality, intelligence, and the lasting impact he had on everyone who worked with him,” Dziubinski said. “His groundbreaking work, specifically in communication and cognition research, demonstrated the cognitive complexity of bonobos and makes research supporting this beautiful species even more crucial.”
Dziubinski’s project focused on implementing voluntary semen collection techniques in bonobos to collect samples and evaluate different methods of semen liquefaction. Because bonobos exhibit a matriarchal group structure, introducing new males into groups for breeding can prove to be exceptionally difficult.
This effort is crucial to improve the genetic diversity of bonobos in captivity to address the decline in bonobo populations.
Dziubinski worked with College of Veterinary Medicine faculty members Dr. Theresa Beachler and Dr. June Olds. Beachler is a theriogenologist with research interests in comparative reproduction. Olds is a long-time zoo veterinarian and a member of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians.
“I chose this project because I wanted to explore research as a potential career path while contributing to conservation efforts,” Dziubinski said. “I also wanted to work with a species I had never interacted with before and push myself outside my comfort zone.”
She was able to check off all those boxes with her summer research project.
Dziubinski’s research will be highlighted during an upcoming celebration of Kanzi’s life. A program will be held Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Science Center of Iowa in Des Moines.
“This project was originally developed with Kanzi in hopes of continuing his legacy and supporting species conservation efforts for bonobos,” Dziubinski said.
Even though Dziubinski never met Kanzi, she was still inspired by him and her summer research project could potentially change her career goals.
“This experience has shifted my interests toward a career path in research and conservation medicine,” she said. “I am very appreciative of everyone who helped make this project possible.
“But I should also thank Kanzi for his contribution to science and the lasting impact he made on everyone around him.”
October 2025