There is a percentage of their language that has little or nothing to do with any physical need. Like mute Humans, Chimpanzees are often found signing to themselves. Chimpanzees are often simply commenting on their environments rather than asking for anything. 12- 14% of signing that Chimpanzees did in this study was found to be "informative signing", that is signing which refer to something that is not in the present environment.
There have also been primates who can not only understand and "speak" sign language, but also can understand spoken words and respond to them in sign language. They thus demonstrate not only their ability to communicate but also to translate. An example of this is the Orangutan, Chantek, who was studied by Dr. H. Lyn White Miles.
It was first discovered that he could translate speech when he was listening to the radio. The narrator said "cat" and Chantek responded by signing "cat". He was then asked to sign some words already in his vocabulary, which he did. He, thus, demonstrated his skill at sign-speech correspondences without intentional training.
Finally, Apes can not only sign for themselves but also have been found to teach language to other apes. Washoe, an adult Chimp, was given a ten-month-old named Loulis who she began to teach. "Washoe was doing some very subtle teaching, in that she would initially orient towards Loulis, then sign "come", then approach him, and then retrieve him. She gradually faded this so that she stopped retrieving him and then she stopped approaching him and finally all she had to do was orient and sign. She also did some active teaching of signs. In one case she actually took his hand and molded it into the sign for food in an appropriate context."
There are also cases of Gorillas engaging in conversations indicating emotions such as sorrow and apparent answers to after death experiences. Koko, a Gorilla kept at the Gorilla Foundation carried on the following conversation with care-taker Francine Patterson about a kitten "All-Ball" who was a killed.
F: How did you feel when you lost All-Ball?
K: Want
F: How did you feel when you lost him?
K: Open Trouble Visit Sorry
F: When he died, remember when Ball died, how did you feel?
K: Red Red Red Bad Sorry Koko- Love Good.This conversation makes a strong case for a Gorilla's emotional experience. Koko also had a conversation with another teacher which follows.
Teacher: Where do gorillas go when they die?
Koko: Comfortable Hole Bye
Teacher: How do gorillas feel when they die- happy, sad, afraid?
Koko: SleepThe importance of this interaction can be seen in the consistency of Koko's responses. Time and again she would give such clues to her care-takers about her interpretation of death. They are also note-worthy since no one had ever demonstrated or even talked to her about burials.
This can be seen in Chimpanzees' ability to come up with novel solutions to difficulties. For example, Loulis, the Chimpanzee described earlier was found "playing with a block of wood by placing it on his head and then referring to it as a hat." There were six such instances of "substitution" in fifteen hours of videotapes.
Many other examples of rational thought are also relevant to Richard Passingham's definition of personhood. For example, the first requirement of inventiveness has previously been examined in the case of Loulis who put a block on his head and called it a hat.
Chantek, the Orangutan described earlier clearly used his signs to make requests. The Orangutan's use of deception also plays a role in defining will. Chantek would, for example, "sign "dirty" to get into the bathroom to play with the washing machine, dryer, soap, etc." He also "stole food from my (the caretakeršs) pocket while he simultaneously pulled my hand in the opposite direction. A final example of Chantek's deception was when he "stole a pencil eraser, pretended to swallow it and "supported" his case by opening his mouth and signing "food-eat". An important aspect in deception is that it "requires a deliberate and intentional misrepresentation of reality."
Conscience is the ability to think about oneself in relation to others. In order for the Orangutan to pull off such a deception she/he would have to understand the effect each of her/his actions would have on another individual. They would have to take on the perspective of the other person. Similarly, inherent in the notion of empathy is the idea that you are looking through anotheršs eyes, an action that Koko adapted when she recognized that the horse with the bit in her/his mouth was "sad". Koko's companion Cindy Duggan has shown Koko a picture of a horse with a bit in his mouth.And the following conversation takes place.
K: Horse Sad
CD: Why?
K: Teeth
An experiment reported by ("Science News") which was conducted by Gordon G. Gallup, Jr. consisted of exposing a set group of Chimpanzees to mirrors and having another group who had not been exposed to them. Then the chimps were anesthesized and the mirrors were taken away. Then the eyebrow ridge and the top half of the opposite ear were painted with a bright red, odorless dye. The Chimp was put back into it's cage without a mirror. Later when the mirror was replaced the Chimpanzees who had previously been exposed to mirrors reacted by attempting to touch the marked areas and examining the area visually and smelling the fingers which they had used to touch the marked portions. Likewise, when Koko was asked who the reflection in her mirror was she responded with "Me There Koko Good Teeth Good."
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee Monkeying Around
Female Gorilla
Mother and Baby Gorilla
Orangutan
Silverback Male Gorilla "Willie B."
Interesting Links on Great Apes
Just Like You and Me
The Electronic Zoo
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Human Symbolic Evolution
Orangutan Foundation International
The Jane Goodall Research Center
The author of this page does not necessarily condone the listed links or groups. Compiled and Written by Brooke Bailey member of So Far, Antioch College's animal liberation group
