Bonnie (orangutan)
Encyclopedia
Bonnie is a female orangutan
living at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park
in Washington, D.C.
She began spontaneously whistling, mimicking an animal caretaker making the sound. The importance is that whistling is a sound that is in a human’s—but not an orangutan’s—repertoire. While some lower primates have been shown to make non-standard sounds for their species, it has always been the result of intense training, whereas Bonnie just picked up the new sound mechanism.
Another interesting aspect is that she seems to whistle just because she likes the sound as opposed to producing this behavior in response to a potential food reward.
Bonnie's whistling was documented in Primates
by Dr. Serge Wich and his co-authors: Great Ape Trust
scientists Dr. Karyl Swartz and Dr. Rob Shumaker; Madeleine E. Hardus and Adriano R. Lameira, doctoral candidates at the Utrecht University
in The Netherlands
assigned to the Ketambe Research Center in Sumatra
, where Wich is research co-manager; and Erin Stromberg, an animal caretaker at the National Zoo.
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
living at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park
Smithsonian National Zoological Park
The Smithsonian National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States, and as part of the Smithsonian Institution, does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to provide leadership in animal care, science, education,...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
She began spontaneously whistling, mimicking an animal caretaker making the sound. The importance is that whistling is a sound that is in a human’s—but not an orangutan’s—repertoire. While some lower primates have been shown to make non-standard sounds for their species, it has always been the result of intense training, whereas Bonnie just picked up the new sound mechanism.
Another interesting aspect is that she seems to whistle just because she likes the sound as opposed to producing this behavior in response to a potential food reward.
Bonnie's whistling was documented in Primates
Primates (journal)
Primates is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal of primatology. It publishes original papers that cover all aspects of the study of primates. The journal publishes original research articles, reviews, short communications, book reviews, and notes. It was established in 1957...
by Dr. Serge Wich and his co-authors: Great Ape Trust
Great Ape Trust
The Great Ape Trust is a ape sanctuary and language study in Des Moines, Iowa, that houses orangutans and bonobos. The sanctuary opened to primates on September 28, 2004. The mission of the Great Ape Trust is studying language, culture, intelligence, and tool use in primates...
scientists Dr. Karyl Swartz and Dr. Rob Shumaker; Madeleine E. Hardus and Adriano R. Lameira, doctoral candidates at the Utrecht University
Utrecht University
Utrecht University is a university in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe. Established March 26, 1636, it had an enrollment of 29,082 students in 2008, and employed 8,614 faculty and staff, 570 of which are full professors....
in The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
assigned to the Ketambe Research Center in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, where Wich is research co-manager; and Erin Stromberg, an animal caretaker at the National Zoo.