Kanzi (Bonobo)

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Kanzi next to Savage-Rumbaugh with a lexigram table in 2006
Kanzi with Savage-Rumbaugh and his sister Panbanisha

Kanzi (born October 28, 1980 ) is the name of a bonobo (dwarf chimpanzee) who became famous for his comparatively pronounced knowledge of the English language.

His mental abilities were described in 1994 in "The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind" (German title: "Kanzi, the speaking monkey"). Speaking human language is anatomically impossible for Bonobos, but Kanzi understands partially spoken English and can communicate with the help of a 300 lexigram symbol table. He has been portrayed in various documentaries about animal intelligence and animal language . The findings of the experiments with Kanzi contributed to an understanding of the behavioral biology of bonobos.

Life

Kanzi lives in a special animal shelter in Des Moines , Iowa , where he learned to communicate with people from the age of one. His parents are Lorel and Bosandjo. Kanzi was in the Yerkes field station of Emory University born. He later became the Language Research Center of Georgia State University transferred. Shortly after his birth, Kanzi was stolen and adopted by the senior bonobo Matata. Kanzi learned the first terms spontaneously, ie without reinforcement , by watching and listening to his adoptive mother Matata's lessons. Kanzi, who is tutored by the psychologist and monkey researcher Sue Savage-Rumbaugh , understands and reacts to about 3000 words (in English). His own vocabulary is around 500 words. Kanzi communicates with lexigrams using a computer keyboard. These are small, abstract word symbols that he taps. He can use it to form sentences, use words in a figurative sense (he scolds another - probably noticeably clean - monkey as "monkey, dirty"), expresses feelings and wishes and has the intelligence of a three-year-old person. His own lexigram is of Chinese characters 太 derived its name means in Kiswahili , hidden treasure '. He is able to assign a new word to a previously unused symbol on his keyboard (“red cup”) and then answers the question whether he would like something to drink with “orange juice, red cup”. He has also attracted attention for his ability to make fires with matches and grill food, including marshmallows . Kanzi can get groceries from a vending machine, cook it in a microwave oven, and watch self-selected films on television.

The experiments described include: In a room divided by a grid, there is a monkey in each part. One (A) receives delicacies in closed containers one after the other, each of which can only be opened with a very specific tool. The other monkey (B) has all these tools. Now (using a keyboard) A has to request the right tool from B, B looks for it and passes it to A through a hole in the grille. A can now open the container and get the coveted treat.

Documentaries

  • National Geographic Explorer: Pygmy Chimps: Star Students (1985)
  • TEDtalks: Susan Savage-Rumbaugh: The Real-Life Culture of Bonobos (2006)

literature

Web links

Commons : Kanzi (Bonobo)  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Margo DeMello: Animals and Society. Columbia University Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-231-52676-0 , p. 369.
  2. ^ A b Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, R. Lewin: Kanzi: The Ape at the Brink of the Human Mind . Wiley 1994 ISBN 0-471-58591-2 . German edition: »Kanzi - the talking chimpanzee. What distinguishes the animal from the human mind. «From the American by Sebastian Vogel. Droemersche Verlagsanstalt Th. Knaur Nachf., Munich 1995, ISBN 3-426-77311-2 .
  3. ↑ Barry Lewis: Cengage Advantage Books: Understanding Humans: An Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Archeology. Cengage Learning, 2008, ISBN 978-0-495-60474-7 .
  4. ^ Richard W. Wrangham: Chimpanzee Cultures. Harvard University Press, 1996, ISBN 978-0-674-11663-4 , p. XVIII.
  5. ^ Trevor A. Harley: The Psychology of Language. Psychology Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-317-93843-9 , p. 64.
  6. ^ P Raffaele: Speaking Bonobo . In: Smithsonian Magazine (ed.): Smithsonian Magazine . November 2006. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
    Amazing photos of Kanzi the bonobo lighting a fire and cooking a meal. Photo gallery on telegraph.co.uk . Retrieved November 26, 2018