Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative is a sanctuary and scientific research facility in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. It is dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence. The facility was announced in 2002 and received its first ape residents in 2004, and is currently home to a colony of seven bonobos involved in non-invasive interdisciplinary studies of their cognitive and communicative capabilities.

Facility

Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative is situated on 230 acres and houses a family of seven bonobos:

Kanzi Kanzi (born October 28, 1980), also known by the lexigram (from the character 太), is a male bonobo who has been the subject of several studies on great ape language. According to Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, a primatologist who has studied ...

, Elikya, Maisha, Nyota, Teco, Clara, and Mali. Three of the bonobos learned important elements of human culture during their crucial first year of life. As a youngster, Kanzi acquired language competency by simply watching humans attempt to teach language to Matata, the wild-caught grandmother of the family. Nyota is the first ape reared both by humans and a language-competent ape mother. The youngest, Teco, provides a unique look into the epigenetic effects of language acquisition. All three of these bonobos communicate with humans using a collection of over 400 "

lexigram Yerkish is an artificial language developed for use by human, non-human primates. It employs a Computer keyboard, keyboard whose keys contain ''lexigrams'', symbols corresponding to objects or ideas. Lexigrams were notably used by the Georgia Sta ...

" symbols printed on paper or appearing on computer touch screens. It has been repeatedly claimed that these bonobos can think, make plans and understand simple spoken English. Kanzi has been filmed making music, building a fire, and crafting simple stone tools. More than 400 scientific papers and many books document the near-human capabilities of the bonobos, and films portraying their achievements have been broadcast worldwide. Television coverage includes features with

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...

, Anderson Cooper, '' 60 Minutes'' (in Australia), BBC,

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and Peter Gabriel.

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Bonobos Primate sanctuaries Primate research centers Buildings and structures in Des Moines, Iowa Education in Des Moines, Iowa Museums in Des Moines, Iowa Non-profit organizations based in Iowa Environmental organizations established in 2004 Research institutes established in 2004 2004 establishments in Iowa