Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute
Encyclopedia
The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI) is located on the campus of Central Washington University
in Ellensburg, Washington
. CHCI is a sanctuary for three chimpanzees who have learned to communicate with humans and each other using American Sign Language
. CHCI's co-directors are Roger Fouts
and Deborah Fouts
, Mary Lee Jensvold
is the Assistant Director. Roger Fouts is Director of Research for Central Washington University
.
, Loulis
, and Moja moved to Central Washington University
. Tatu and Dar followed the next year. The chimpanzees were originally housed on the third floor of the university's psychology complex. Roger Fouts and Deborah Fouts with their students advocated the campus and the state legislature for a specialized facility for the chimpanzees. The CHCI complex was opened on May 7, 1993.
Central Washington University
Central Washington University, often abbreviated CWU, is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington in the United States.This location was selected by the state legislature as a consolation prize after Ellensburg lost its bid to be state capital...
in Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg, Washington
Ellensburg is a city in, and the county seat of, Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 18,174 at the 2010 census. The population was 18,250 at 2011 Estimate from Office of Financial Management. Ellensburg is located just east of the Cascade Range on I-90 and is known as the...
. CHCI is a sanctuary for three chimpanzees who have learned to communicate with humans and each other using American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
. CHCI's co-directors are Roger Fouts
Roger Fouts
Roger S. Fouts is an American primate researcher. He is co-director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in Washington, and a professor of psychology at the Central Washington University...
and Deborah Fouts
Deborah Fouts
Deborah Fouts is Director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute . CHCI is the home of Washoe, the first non-human to acquire a human language, and three other chimpanzees who use the signs of American Sign Language to communicate with each other and their human caregivers...
, Mary Lee Jensvold
Mary Lee Jensvold
Dr. Mary Lee Jensvold is the Associate Director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute . CHCI is the home of the chimpanzee Washoe, the first non-human to acquire a human language, and three other chimpanzees who use the signs of American Sign Language to communicate with one another...
is the Assistant Director. Roger Fouts is Director of Research for Central Washington University
Central Washington University
Central Washington University, often abbreviated CWU, is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington in the United States.This location was selected by the state legislature as a consolation prize after Ellensburg lost its bid to be state capital...
.
CHCI's residents
- WashoeWashoe (chimpanzee)Washoe was a chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language, as part of a research experiment on animal language acquisition....
, 1966-30 October 2007. Washoe is the first non-human primate to learn some rudimentary forms of ASL, a true human language. - LoulisLoulisLoulis is a chimpanzee who has learned to communicate in American Sign Language.Loulis was named for two caregivers at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was born. After ten months at Yerkes, Loulis was transferred to Oklahoma with Roger Fouts and Washoe,...
, 1978-. Loulis is Washoe's adopted son and was the subject of a project that examined whether he would learn sign language from other chimpanzees. The complete research was not published in a peer-reviewed journal, but can be found in a book published in 1989 entitled "Teaching Sign Language to Chimpanzees" edited by Allen and Beatrix Gardner. - Tatu, 1975-.
- Dar, 1976-.
- MojaMojaMoja may refer to:*Möja, an island in Stockholm, Sweden*Moja, Mozambique...
, 1972-2002.
CHCI's history
In September 1980, WashoeWashoe (chimpanzee)
Washoe was a chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language, as part of a research experiment on animal language acquisition....
, Loulis
Loulis
Loulis is a chimpanzee who has learned to communicate in American Sign Language.Loulis was named for two caregivers at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was born. After ten months at Yerkes, Loulis was transferred to Oklahoma with Roger Fouts and Washoe,...
, and Moja moved to Central Washington University
Central Washington University
Central Washington University, often abbreviated CWU, is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington in the United States.This location was selected by the state legislature as a consolation prize after Ellensburg lost its bid to be state capital...
. Tatu and Dar followed the next year. The chimpanzees were originally housed on the third floor of the university's psychology complex. Roger Fouts and Deborah Fouts with their students advocated the campus and the state legislature for a specialized facility for the chimpanzees. The CHCI complex was opened on May 7, 1993.
CHCI's mission
CHCI works to promote advocacy of chimpanzee conservation and the promotion of primate intellect. The sanctuary hosts public sessions, known as Chimposiums, which allow the public to see the chimps in action. The sessions include a classroom section where the project is introduced and the visitors learn about the plight of chimpanzees in both captive and free-living situations, followed by a session observing and interacting with the chimps. For safety reasons, no one -- visitors or staff -- has physical contact with the chimps.CHCI's future
CHCI has no immediate plans to introduce any other chimpanzees to keep the delicate family balance intact. It was suggested that after all but one pass away this might be a possibility, but not now.Research opportunities
CHCI hosts opportunities for both undergraduates and graduates. Many volunteer as docents or assistants within the center while others actually conduct research on primate behavior. CHCI has a firm policy of letting the chimpanzees dictate the rules -- research projects which inconvenience the chimps in any way must be aborted. Research is mostly observational.See also
- Washoe (chimpanzee)Washoe (chimpanzee)Washoe was a chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language, as part of a research experiment on animal language acquisition....
- LoulisLoulisLoulis is a chimpanzee who has learned to communicate in American Sign Language.Loulis was named for two caregivers at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was born. After ten months at Yerkes, Loulis was transferred to Oklahoma with Roger Fouts and Washoe,...
- Roger FoutsRoger FoutsRoger S. Fouts is an American primate researcher. He is co-director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in Washington, and a professor of psychology at the Central Washington University...
- Deborah FoutsDeborah FoutsDeborah Fouts is Director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute . CHCI is the home of Washoe, the first non-human to acquire a human language, and three other chimpanzees who use the signs of American Sign Language to communicate with each other and their human caregivers...
- Mary Lee JensvoldMary Lee JensvoldDr. Mary Lee Jensvold is the Associate Director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute . CHCI is the home of the chimpanzee Washoe, the first non-human to acquire a human language, and three other chimpanzees who use the signs of American Sign Language to communicate with one another...
- Central Washington UniversityCentral Washington UniversityCentral Washington University, often abbreviated CWU, is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington in the United States.This location was selected by the state legislature as a consolation prize after Ellensburg lost its bid to be state capital...
Resources
- CHCI Homepage
- Friends of Washoe -- CHCI's 501.3(c) organization dedicated to education and advocacy.
- Central Washington University
- Fouts, Roger. (1997). Next of Kin: My Conversations with Chimpanzees. HarperCollins Publishers: New York.
- Central Washington University - Primate Behavior & Ecology Program