Slideshows:

• Bonobos explore outdoor yard
• Meet Kanzi

Videos:

• Kanzi Understands Spoken Language

• Kanzi and Novel Sentences

• Kanzi the Toolmaker

Kanzi

Name means "treasure" in Swahili

Birthday: October 28, 1980

Born Where: Yerkes National Regional Primate Center, Atlanta

Lived Where: Yerkes; Language Research Center at Georgia State University, Atlanta, 1980-
2005; Great Ape Trust of Iowa, 2005-present

Favorite Foods: Onions, cherries with orange soda

Favorite Toy: Green ball

Favorite Activities: Kanzi enjoys working in research trials and on puzzles that allow him to show his intelligence, as well as sorting items and grooming.

Favorite Game: Chase

What makes Kanzi unique?

Kanzi, the world’s undisputed ape-language superstar, was the first of his species to acquire language as children do: by being exposed to it. The first ape to demonstrate receptive competence of spoken English, Kanzi excels in research featuring novel sentences – that is, phrases that preclude the learning of specific responses. He also is adept at stone toolmaking, giving scientists insight into cognitive and biomechanical skills and constraints, and helping them better understand levels of skill in early prehistoric ancestors.