Loon (September 16, 1979 – June 17, 2003) was a

drill A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a drill bit for making holes, or a screwdriver bit for securing fasteners. Historically, they were powered by hand, and later mains power, but cordless b ...

in the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in San Diego, California, United States, located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park. It began with a collection of animals left over from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition that were brought together by its ...

. He was trained to accept regular

blood sampling In medicine, sampling is gathering of matter from the body to aid in the process of a medical diagnosis and/or evaluation of an indication for treatment, further medical tests or other procedures. In this sense, the sample is the gathered matter ...

and

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

injection Injection or injected may refer to: Science and technology * Injective function, a mathematical function mapping distinct arguments to distinct values * Injection (medicine), insertion of liquid into the body with a syringe * Injection, in broadca ...

in order to treat his

diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or th ...

Life

Loon was born in the

Philadelphia Zoo The Philadelphia Zoo is a zoo located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia on the west bank of the Schuylkill River. It was the first true zoo in the United States; it was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on March 21, 1859 ...

in 1979,Zoo farewells pioneering monkey
at the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

; published June 16, 2003; retrieved June 14, 2016 and transferred to the San Diego Zoo in 1982. Training a Diabetic Drill (''Mandrillus leucophaeus'') to Accept Insulin Injections and Venipuncture
by Gary Priest, in ''Laboratory Primate Newsletter''; volume 30, number 1 January 1991; archived at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

; retrieved June 14, 2016 He was named "Loon" because of his vocalizations. In June 1989, Loon began rapidly losing weight, and in July of that year he was diagnosed with diabetes. Treatment began immediately, with multiple daily blood draws and insulin injections; however, this led Loon to become extremely aggressive, and the zoo was forced to restrain him in a small cage, and to sedate him before procedures. As a result, he developed neurotic and stereotyped behavior, which decreased his

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

so much that

euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...

was considered. End of life near for pioneering monkey at zoo
by James Steinberg, in ''

the San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''; published June 16, 2003; retrieved June 14, 2016 With the help of a former

SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by United Parks & Resorts. The parks host shows st ...

animal trainer,Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premier School for Exotic Animal Trainers
by Amy Sutherland; published 2006, by

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

zoo personnel used

operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...

techniques so that Loon would associate

venipuncture In medicine, venipuncture or venepuncture is the process of obtaining intravenous access for the purpose of venous Sampling (medicine)#blood, blood sampling (also called ''phlebotomy'') or intravenous therapy. In healthcare, this procedure is p ...

and other medical procedures with rewards such as getting fed or groomed. He subsequently learned to participate in getting himself weighed, and to provide daily

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

samples by "go ngpotty" on command. Loon eventually became a

role model A role model is a person whose behaviour, example, or success serves as a model to be emulated by others, especially by younger people. The term ''role model'' is credited to sociologist Robert K. Merton, who hypothesized that individuals compa ...

for human children with diabetes who were likewise reluctant to receive multiple injections, and the techniques which had been used to train him were adapted by other institutions to train their animals to accede to medical procedures.

Legacy

Samples of Loon's tissues have been

cryopreserved Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process where biological material - cells, tissues, or organs - are frozen to preserve the material for an extended period of time. At low temperatures (typically or using liquid nitrogen) any cell m ...

in a

frozen zoo A frozen zoo is a storage facility in which genetic materials taken from animals (e.g. DNA, sperm, eggs, embryos and live tissue) are stored at very low temperatures (−196 °C) in tanks of liquid nitrogen. Material preserved in this way ca ...

.NEW TECHNOLOGIES HELP RARE ANIMALS REPRODUCE
by Michele Ostrove, in ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...

''; published March 18, 1990; retrieved June 14, 2016 Due to physical consequences of his diabetes, Loon was unable to

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

naturally; however, his

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is a bodily fluid that contains spermatozoon, spermatozoa which is secreted by the male gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphrodite, hermaphroditic animals. In humans and placen ...

was assigned to the

Columbus Zoo The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is a non-profit zoo located near Powell, Ohio, Powell in Liberty Township, Delaware County, Ohio, United States, north of the city of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The land lies along the eastern banks of the O'Shaughnes ...

, where female drills are available for

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

. As well, he was one of the first two animals of an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

to have his tissue samples used to make

induced pluripotent stem cell Induced pluripotent stem cells (also known as iPS cells or iPSCs) are a type of pluripotent stem cell that can be generated directly from a somatic cell. The iPSC technology was pioneered by Shinya Yamanaka and Kazutoshi Takahashi in Kyoto, Jap ...

s as an attempt at

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

.Stem cell research could save endangered rhinos and monkeys
by Janet Fang; at ZDNet; published September 7, 2011; retrieved June 14, 2016

References

{{Portal bar, California, Animals 1979 animal births 2003 animal deaths Individual monkeys

Life

Legacy

See also

References