Today during Anthropology I found out that scientists managed to teach modified American Sign Language to a chimp named Lucy Temerlin and a bonobo named Kanzi.
This absolutely blew my mind.
I've spent a few hours today reading as much as I can about it. Apparently, Lucy figured out how to lie, which was previously thought to be impossible as it necessitates a sense of self - something we thought only humans had.
During an outing in the woods, Kanzi signed for "marshmallows" and "fire" - he then broke twigs, set fire to the wood with matches, and proceeded to roast the marshmallows on a stick.
I don't know how I just now heard about this, but I find it all pretty incredible. Check out these links:
Kanzi
Lucy Temerlin - includes a conversation between Lucy and her trainer, translated from ASL.
2 comments:
Today on CNN, there was an article about an elephant that seems to recognize her own image in a mirror (something scientists previously thought wasn't possible, because it, too, suggests they have a sense of self).
There was a really great article last week...I think in the WSJ? Anyway, it talked about a lot of new research that demonstrates many animals may actually have a sense of self, and may have intelligence and emotions way beyond what we'd previously believed.
Very fascinating stuff (sorry I can't provide the articles - I'll have to hunt for the links).
(btw, stumbled upon your blog surfing through Blogger)
This blows my mind as well. I actually was just having a chat with my roomate the other night about this very thing. Amazing things, these primates.
Oh, I miss you terribly btw. We should chat sometime soon.
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