October 31, 2007
Washoe Dies
Washoe, the world's most important chimpanzee and the first non-human to acquire sign language, died on Tuesday in Ellensburg, Wash. aged 42. That's almost youthful by chimp standards in captivity. Washoe was proof, argued some, that chimps could reason, think and communicate much the same as humans. Fascinating creature.
Posted by Philip Dawdy at October 31, 2007 10:25 PM
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Washoe really did greet you with sign language, it was amazing. That is so damn sad.
Here's an interesting article on the life of Washoe. She was 42 years old when she died:
http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007711010333
They are having a memorial for Washoe, that says a lot. One of my kids who knows ASL spent time there, and Washoe was remarkable.
