Kanzi
Kanzi, a male bonobo was taught ASL and attempted to teach it to his younger sister, Tamuli. Their human caretakers signed actions at Tamuli that she was supposed to perform, but she could not since she did not understand the signs. Kanzi attempted to make Tamuli understand by pantomiming the actions she was supposed to and grabbing her hand in an effort to physically make her perform the signed activities. She did not comprehend what he was trying to tell her. Kanzi showed remarkable social awareness by understanding that other apes did not have the same training as himself and attempting to teach them[1].
Kanzi is not only a tool maker but he also specializes in the use of language. No ape has ever reached the same cognitive level of an adult human in linguistics, tool making, mathematics, aesthetics, or music. But they can match that of a 2.5 year old child. Kanzi was raised in captivity, thus he has been surrounded by humans his entire life. If a wild Bonobo were to be placed in his situation, it would not be as adept. That is to say that wild Bonobos do not match up to their captive counterparts.
Kanzi was raised in a language rich environment and has been taught language through the use of lexigrams (pictures that in this case have nothing to do with what they stand for). When the lexigram key is pressed the word it symbolizes is said in English by a computerized voice. Kanzi and his sister Panbanisha are both experts at finding the word they wish to use, however phrases that are comprised of more than one are rare. Thus sentences do not happen, but asking a question and holding a simple conversation is not above these Bonobos.[2]
- ↑ De Waal, Franz (2005) Our Inner Ape ISBN 1594481962
- ↑ Rumbaugh, Duane M.; Washburn, David A. (2006). Primate Perspectives on Behavior And Cognition (Decade of Behavior). American Psychological Association (APA). ISBN 1-59147-422-1.