Kanzi
Encyclopedia
Kanzi also known by the lexigram 
, is a male bonobo
who has been featured in several studies on great ape language
. According to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
, a primatologist who has studied the bonobo throughout her life, Kanzi has exhibited advanced linguistic aptitude.
and moved to the Language Research Center at Georgia State University
, Kanzi was stolen and adopted shortly after birth by a more dominant female, Matata. As an infant, Kanzi accompanied Matata to sessions where she was taught language through keyboard lexigrams, but showed little interest in the lessons.
It was a great surprise to researchers then when one day, while Matata was away, Kanzi began competently using the lexigrams, becoming not only the first observed ape to have learned aspects of language naturalistically rather than through direct training, but also the first observed bonobo to appear to use some elements of language at all. Within a short time, Kanzi had mastered the ten words that researchers had been struggling to teach his adoptive mother, and he has since learned more than two hundred more. When he hears a spoken word (through headphones, to filter out nonverbal clues), he points to the correct lexigram.
According to a Discover
article, Kanzi is an accomplished tool user.
Kanzi, his mother, and sister now live at the Great Ape Trust
in Des Moines, Iowa
. Kanzi is the alpha male
of the resident community of Bonobos. His mother, Matata, is the chief leader (in the matriachal society of bonobos, a male's position is primarily determined by the position of the females he is related to). According to the Smithsonian magazine, Kanzi "has the mien of an aging patriarch - he's balding and paunchy with serious, deep-set eyes." This description is confirmed by a full-page color photograph of Kanzi in the March 2008 National Geographic, and a full-page black-and white photograph in Time magazine.
Teco, son of Kanzi, was born June 1, 2010. Teco has been exhibiting behaviors that may indicate he has a form of Autism
.
from watching videos of Koko the gorilla
, who communicates using sign language to her keeper Penny Patterson; Savage-Rumbaugh did not realize Kanzi could sign until he signed "You, Gorilla, Question" to anthropologist Dawn Prince-Hughes
, who had previously worked closely with gorilla
s.
Kanzi cannot speak vocally in a manner that is comprehensible to most humans as Bonobo chimps have different vocal tracts from humans, which makes them incapable of reproducing most of the vocal sounds humans make. At the same time, it was noticed that every time Kanzi communicated with humans with specially designed graphic symbols, he also produced some vocalization. It was later found out that Kanzi was actually producing the articulate equivalent of the symbols he was indicating, or, in other words, he was "saying" (articulating) these words, although in a very high pitch and with distortions.
, is a male bonoboBonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
who has been featured in several studies on great ape language
Great Ape language
Research into non-human great ape language has involved teaching chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans to communicate with human beings and with each other using sign language, physical tokens, and lexigrams; see Yerkish...
. According to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh
Sue Savage-Rumbaugh , also known by the lexigram , is a primatologist most known for her work with two bonobos, Kanzi and Panbanisha, investigating their use of "Great Ape language" using lexigrams and computer-based keyboards...
, a primatologist who has studied the bonobo throughout her life, Kanzi has exhibited advanced linguistic aptitude.
Biography
Born to Lorel and Bosandjo at Yerkes field station at Emory UniversityEmory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and moved to the Language Research Center at Georgia State University
Georgia State University
Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...
, Kanzi was stolen and adopted shortly after birth by a more dominant female, Matata. As an infant, Kanzi accompanied Matata to sessions where she was taught language through keyboard lexigrams, but showed little interest in the lessons.
It was a great surprise to researchers then when one day, while Matata was away, Kanzi began competently using the lexigrams, becoming not only the first observed ape to have learned aspects of language naturalistically rather than through direct training, but also the first observed bonobo to appear to use some elements of language at all. Within a short time, Kanzi had mastered the ten words that researchers had been struggling to teach his adoptive mother, and he has since learned more than two hundred more. When he hears a spoken word (through headphones, to filter out nonverbal clues), he points to the correct lexigram.
According to a Discover
Discover (magazine)
Discover is an American science magazine that publishes articles about science for a general audience. The monthly magazine was launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It was sold to Family Media, the owners of Health, in 1987. Walt Disney Company bought the magazine when Family Media went out of...
article, Kanzi is an accomplished tool user.
Kanzi, his mother, and sister now live at the 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...
in Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
. Kanzi is the alpha male
Alpha (biology)
In social animals, the alpha is the individual in the community with the highest rank. Where one male and one female fulfill this role, they are referred to as the alpha pair...
of the resident community of Bonobos. His mother, Matata, is the chief leader (in the matriachal society of bonobos, a male's position is primarily determined by the position of the females he is related to). According to the Smithsonian magazine, Kanzi "has the mien of an aging patriarch - he's balding and paunchy with serious, deep-set eyes." This description is confirmed by a full-page color photograph of Kanzi in the March 2008 National Geographic, and a full-page black-and white photograph in Time magazine.
Teco, son of Kanzi, was born June 1, 2010. Teco has been exhibiting behaviors that may indicate he has a form of Autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
.
Examples of Kanzi's behavior
The following are highly suggestive anecdotes, not experimental demonstrations. As with all anecdotal accounts, the strength of conclusions drawn must be limited, as compared with well-controlled experimental evidence.- In an outing in the GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
woods, Kanzi touched the symbols for "marshmallowMarshmallowThe marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
s" and "fire." Susan Savage-Rumbaugh said in an interview that, "Given matches and marshmallows, Kanzi snapped twigs for a fire, lit them with the matches and toasted the marshmallows on a stick."
- Paul Raffaele, at Savage-Rumbaugh's request, performed a Maori War DanceHakaHaka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...
for the Bonobos. This dance includes thigh-slapping, chest-thumping, and hollering. Almost all the bonobos present interpreted this as an aggressive display, and reacted with loud screams, tooth-baring, and pounding the walls and floor. All but Kanzi, who remained perfectly calm; he then communicated with Savage-Rumbaugh using bonobo vocalizations; Savage-Rumbaugh understood these vocalizations, and said to Raffaele, "he'd like you to do it again just for him, in a room out back, so the others won't get upset." Later, a private performance in another room was successfully, peacefully, and happily carried out.
- Sue Savage-Rumbaugh has observed Kanzi in communication to his sister. In this experiment, Kanzi was kept in a separate room of the Great Ape Project and shown some yogurt. Kanzi made some vocalizations which his sister could hear; his sister, PanbanishaPanzee and PanbanishaPanpanzee, often called "Panzee", and Panbanisha, also known by the lexigram , are two apes with whom research is being carried out in the United States. Panzee lives at the Language Research Center at Georgia State University and Panbanisha lives at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa...
, who could not see the yogurt, then pointed to the lexigram for yogurt, suggesting those vocalizations may have meaning.
- Kanzi's accomplishments also include tool use and tool crafting. Kanzi is an accomplished stone tool maker and can flake Oldowan style cutting knives. He learned this skill from Dr. Nick Toth, who is an anthropologist with the Stone Age InstituteStone Age InstituteThe Stone Age Institute is an independent research center dedicated to the archaeological study of human origins and technological development. The institute conducts research and education in human origins studies, publishes books and articles, and mentors prospective scientists The institute is...
in Bloomington, Indiana. The stone knives Kanzi creates are very sharp and can cut animal hide and thick ropes.
- In one demonstration shown on the television show Champions of the WildChampions of the wildChampions of the Wild is a documentary about animals and the effort to protect them and their habitat. The show aired on Animal Planet in 1998 and 2003, and was narrarated by Andrew Gardner...
, Kanzi was shown playing the arcade game Pac-ManPac-Manis an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
and understanding how to beat it.
Language
Although Kanzi learned to communicate using a keyboard with lexigrams, Kanzi also picked up some American Sign LanguageAmerican 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...
from watching videos of Koko the gorilla
Koko (gorilla)
Koko is a female western lowland gorilla who, according to Francine "Penny" Patterson, is able to understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English....
, who communicates using sign language to her keeper Penny Patterson; Savage-Rumbaugh did not realize Kanzi could sign until he signed "You, Gorilla, Question" to anthropologist Dawn Prince-Hughes
Dawn Prince-Hughes
Dawn Prince-Hughes, is an anthropologist, primatologist, and ethologist who received her M.A. and PhD in interdisciplinary anthropology from the Universität Herisau in Switzerland...
, who had previously worked closely with gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
s.
Kanzi cannot speak vocally in a manner that is comprehensible to most humans as Bonobo chimps have different vocal tracts from humans, which makes them incapable of reproducing most of the vocal sounds humans make. At the same time, it was noticed that every time Kanzi communicated with humans with specially designed graphic symbols, he also produced some vocalization. It was later found out that Kanzi was actually producing the articulate equivalent of the symbols he was indicating, or, in other words, he was "saying" (articulating) these words, although in a very high pitch and with distortions.
See also
- KokoKoko (gorilla)Koko is a female western lowland gorilla who, according to Francine "Penny" Patterson, is able to understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English....
- 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....
- Nim ChimpskyNim ChimpskyNim Chimpsky was a chimpanzee who was the subject of an extended study of animal language acquisition at Columbia University, led by Herbert S. Terrace....
- Alex (parrot)Alex (parrot)Alex was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard University and Brandeis University. Pepperberg bought Alex in a regular pet shop when he was about one year old...
- AkeakamaiAkeakamaiAkeakamai was a female Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, who along with a companion female dolphin named Phoenix, as well as tankmates Elele and Hiapo, were the subjects of Louis Herman's animal language studies at the Kewalo Basin Marine Mammal Laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii...
- Clever HansClever HansClever Hans was an Orlov Trotter horse that was claimed to have been able to perform arithmetic and other intellectual tasks....
- KosikKosikKosik is a male Asian elephant in the Everland theme park in Yongin, South Korea, born 1990. He made headlines in September 2006 when it was discovered he could imitate the Korean words for "yes" , "no" , "sit" , "lie down" , and four other words...
- BatyrBatyrBatyr was an Asian elephant claimed to be able to use a large amount of meaningful human speech. Living in a zoo in Kazakhstan, Batyr was reported as having a vocabulary of more than 20 phrases....
- Evolution of language
- Panzee and PanbanishaPanzee and PanbanishaPanpanzee, often called "Panzee", and Panbanisha, also known by the lexigram , are two apes with whom research is being carried out in the United States. Panzee lives at the Language Research Center at Georgia State University and Panbanisha lives at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa...
- YerkishYerkishYerkish is an artificial language developed for use by non-human primates. It employs a keyboard whose keys contain lexigrams, symbols corresponding to objects or ideas....
- Nyota
- Ape language
- Human ApeHuman apeHuman Ape is a National Geographic documentary film on the genetic and evolutionary origins of human behavior, and covers the genetic and behavioural similarities and differences between humans and great apes...
Further reading
- Joseph, John E., Nigel Love & Talbot J. Taylor (2001). Landmarks in Linguistic Thought II: The Western Tradition in the 20th Century (London & New York: Routledge), chapter 15: "Kanzi on Human Language".
- de Waal, FransFrans de WaalFransiscus Bernardus Maria de Waal, PhD , is a Dutch primatologist and ethologist. He is the Charles Howard Candler professor of Primate Behavior in the Emory University psychology department in Atlanta, Georgia, and director of the Living Links Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research...
(2005). Our Inner Ape, ISBN 1-57322-312-3. - Raffaele, Paul (2006), "The Smart and Swinging Bonobo", Smithsonian, Volume 37, Number 8 (November 2006—a general article about bonobos).
External links
- A review of Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind by Dr. S. Goldin-Meadow
- http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/susan_savage_rumbaugh_on_apes_that_write.html - TED talkTED (conference)TED is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading"....
in part about Kanzi - Video documentary site by Sue Savage-Rumbaugh containing a documentary featuring Kanzi
- Speaking Bonobo article at the Smithsonianmag webpage