VIDEO: Oklahoma City Zoo selling NFT designed by resident orangutan
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Oklahoma City Zoo is selling the world’s first digital-art NFT designed by a resident orangutan.
Zoo officials said in a news release that they and the Oklahoma Zoological Society partnered with designers to create a unique animal enrichment that enables Elok, a 21-year-old male Sumatran orangutan at the zoo, to create digital artwork. The art is available to buy as an NFT via an international auction on Friday.
NFTs first emerged in 2014 and have grown in popularity in recent years. Oklahoma City Zoo officials hope the first digital NFT created by an animal will garner global excitement.
Elok’s NTFs will be available on the auction website OpenSea.io. So far, 10 NFTs are listed in Elok’s collection.
All proceeds from Elok’s art will go toward conserving orangutans and other endangered species in the wild.
“Enrichment provides engaging ways for animals to keep their minds and bodies active,” Becky Scheel, with Megafauna Studios, said in the news release. “Orangutans are highly intelligent, and by utilizing digital applications, you can provide a form of enrichment that’s individualized. Each of Elok’s creations from the movement and balance to the composition is entirely him.
“He voluntarily participated in these enrichment sessions, receiving his favorite snacks from his caretakers making it a rewarding experience, eliciting positive behavior from Elok.”
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Elok the Orangutan
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