Kanzi has been in the news lately and was featured in an article on animal intelligence in Time Magazine and appeared via tape on a segment of the Oprah Winfrey show. This photo of him appeared in Time:
Photo by Finlay MacKay
Kanzi and some of the other bonobos use lexigrams (symbols that represent words) to communicate, but Kanzi was the first one to really learn the system. Researchers were trying to teach lexigrams to his mother, Matata, while a very young Kanzi was in the room. Matata didn't pick it up, but Kanzi did. That's when researchers realized that Kanzi learned best the same way children do - through daily interaction and the context of the situation. As a result the bonobos have learned a lot of words and understand what you say to them even without using any lexigrams.
The lexigram for Kanzi, Kanzi means 'treasure' in Swahili
When I was at the LRC, we had bonobos in two different buildings - the main building and the Psuke building. Once I learned the ropes, I was in charge of the Psuke building where the non-language bonobos lived. Then later I worked at the main building where the language competent bonobos lived.. Kanzi spent time at both buildings because his mother, Matata, lived in the Psuke building. When I was at the Psuke building every morning when the weather was warm enough, I would sprinkle food all around the outdoor area and let them out for the first food of the day. I would try to give them a variety of things so they never knew what they were going to find. There was always great excitement to see what was for breakfast. But when Kanzi was there, I always made sure there were plenty of onions because that is one of his favorite foods. Onions were almost like a comfort food for him and whenever he was upset or concerned about something he would always ask for onions - and lots of them.
Like a lot of men, Kanzi is totally motivated by food and will do almost anything for it. One of his favorites that I would fix for him (and the other bonobos) was something I called orange lettuce. It was basically just oranges and lettuce, but I would drizzle a little yogurt thinned with orange juice over it and add some nuts. One year for Kanzi's birthday I fixed orange lettuce, but didn't use the usual romaine. I think I used Bibb or Boston lettuce, I don't remember which now, but it was a big hit. There was a lot of other food there too, including birthday cake, but I was told later that Kanzi didn't ask for more cake, he asked for more orange lettuce!
One day after I had taken Mari (see Ode to an Orangutan) out in the transport box and brought her back to the Psuke building, Kanzi was there and started slamming one of the inside cage doors so I couldn't get Mari out of the box. I finally got Mari situated, but realized later that Kanzi might have been jealous of the attention I was paying to Mari. If I had asked him to go outside and wait for me to play chase with him, which he loved, I might have gotten Mari out of the box sooner and placated Kanzi. That happened a lot - the light bulb would go on AFTER a situation and I would realize what they were trying to tell me.
Not only did the bonobos understand what we were saying, they also have much better hearing than ours. We sometimes got feedback from them when we weren't expecting it. On the LRC grounds we had an old trailer located in between the Psuke building and the main building and sometimes we would hold bonobo staff meetings there. On one of these occasions I was told that from now on I would be the one to purchase all the food for the bonobos. Almost immediately we heard bonobo vocalizations. Someone then shouted, 'Do you think Carolyn should buy all the food?' More excited vocalizations. So I became the food buyer with the bonobos' definite approval.
Bonobos are endangered and are only found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They look very similar to chimpanzees, but have a totally different family system. While the males rule the chimp family, females are in charge in the bonobo group. Kanzi's mother, Matata is definitely the matriarch of the bonobos and even though Kanzi is a lot bigger and stronger than Matata, his mom can still put him in his place.
Kanzi and the other bonobos are now at the Great Ape Trust in Iowa. I'll be introducing you to Panbanisha in November for HER birthday!
For more on bonobos, check out 'Bonobo: The Forgotten Ape' on my Book Recommendations page.
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