Lorraine Miller, the founder and director of Great Ape Consultancy, has been working in the zoological industry for 14 years, 10 of which were spent directly working with great apes at facilities in the UK, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Miller has consulted on great ape facility design, husbandry, health and safety, and staff training.
The Great Ape Consultancy is dedicated to improving the lives of great apes in human care in zoos, wildlife parks and sanctuaries across the world. Miller has experience in managing all four great apes in various social groupings and management systems. These include bachelor groups, breeding groups, and fission-fusion management.
Additionally, she has managed several births, geriatric animals and end of life care. She has overseen introductions, animal transfer and animal training. She has also gained extensive knowledge of nutrition for great apes and their enrichment needs to improve animal health and welfare. One nominator said Miller’s “passion for great apes and their care is infectious, and she has a deep-seated interest in continually improving our husbandry and care practices”.
Miller has a Bsc in wildlife conservation and an Fd in zoology, and certificates in animal management, and animal welfare and behaviour. Miller is vice president of the conservation charity Project Numbat, a trustee of the Southern Thailand Elephant Foundation, and an ambassador for Wild Welfare. Also, she is an introduction and nutrition advisor of the EAZA chimpanzee ex situ programme and great ape TAG.
“I worked with Lainy for a few years at Twycross Zoo, a UK collection that houses all four great ape species. During this time she worked hard to improve the husbandry and care for them, but in particular she worked to improve their diets and enhance the positive reinforcement training program,” said Phillipa Dobbs, veterinary services manager at Twycross Zoo.