DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A Des Moines ape research and conservation center is scrambling for funds, spurred by a notice from its benefactor that he intends to cease his financial support.

A fundraising campaign has been launched for Great Ape Trust, which opened in 2004. It's studied orangutans and has been conducting cognitive and social research on the bonobos ape.

According to The Des Moines Register (http://telecomadvisors.biz/bit.ly/nwW6AB), Great Ape Trust founder and sole benefactor Ted Townsend told the center's staff that he will stop the flow of his money at year's end.

The center has been contracting and its budget has shrunk to 25 percent of what it once was.

Founder Townsend told the Register on Wednesday that he's found it's hard to attract support for the center unless he ends his financial backing.