Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/talking-apes-death-language-experiments
Relevance: Unit 1.5 (Paper-1)
A Legacy Beyond Words
Kanzi, the legendary bonobo who could understand spoken English and communicate using symbols, passed away in March 2025. With his death, not only does the world lose a uniquely intelligent individual, but it also marks the close of a pivotal chapter in scientific research on ape communication.
Kanzi’s life and abilities challenged longstanding beliefs about the exclusivity of human language and cognition. For scientists, his story wasn’t just about a talking ape — it was about understanding what makes us human.
A Remarkable Encounter
Barbara J. King, a biological anthropologist at William & Mary, recalls meeting Kanzi in the late 1990s at a research center in Georgia. When she mentioned having a present, Kanzi immediately used a symbol board to ask, “Egg?” and “Question?” — a remarkable demonstration of symbolic reasoning and curiosity.
Despite the gift being a ball, King was struck by Kanzi’s ability to engage in even the simplest form of conversation, proving the depth of his cognitive abilities.
The Making of a Linguistic Pioneer
Born in 1980, Kanzi began learning lexigrams — abstract visual symbols representing words — as an infant. He wasn’t directly taught but picked up language simply by being present, much like human children do.
Over time, Kanzi mastered more than 300 lexigrams and understood spoken English. His success made him the most accomplished of a generation of “talking apes” studied for their linguistic capabilities.
Comparative psychologist Heidi Lyn, who worked with Kanzi for over 30 years, remarked that his death signals not just the loss of an individual, but also the end of a field of inquiry that fundamentally challenged our ideas of language.
A History of Ape-Language Research
The quest to teach language to apes began in the 1940s, when psychologists tried raising a chimpanzee named Viki as a human child. Despite years of effort, Viki could only say four words.
In the 1960s, the focus shifted to sign language. Washoe the chimpanzee learned over 100 signs and even taught them to her son. The 1970s saw more experiments with Koko the gorilla, Chantek the orangutan, and Nim Chimpsky — a chimp who, according to psychologist Herbert Terrace, mimicked signs for rewards without truly understanding language.
To counter such criticisms, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and her team developed lexigrams, moving beyond gestures to abstract symbol systems. Kanzi’s natural acquisition of this system was groundbreaking, highlighting language’s potential as more than conditioned behavior.
Language vs. Communication
Kanzi’s communication style revealed both similarities and differences between human and ape language. While humans often use declarative speech to share information, Kanzi’s use was more imperative — asking for things he wanted.
Yet, according to evolutionary anthropologist Simon Townsend, his interactions showed intent, awareness, and a desire to connect — revealing a complex inner life.
Barbara King emphasized the emotional impact of conversing with a being capable of expressing such interiority, an experience she described as “mind-blowing.”
Ethics and the Decline of Ape-Language Studies
As understanding of ape cognition grew, so did ethical concerns. Scientists began to question the morality of confining intelligent, social beings for research. What happens to these apes once studies end, or funding dries up?
Nim Chimpsky, for example, ended up in biomedical labs and died prematurely in a Texas sanctuary. Kanzi, too, faced institutional upheaval. In 2012, the Great Ape Trust, where he lived, came under scrutiny over health and safety issues. Though an investigation cleared Savage-Rumbaugh, she eventually left, and the center was rebranded as the Ape Initiative.