Chantek

Chantek (born 17 December 1977) is a male orangutan who was born at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center and learned of the research project, using American Sign Language (ASL ) to communicate with people. The term " Chantek " comes from the Malay language and means "beautiful".

Project Chantek

In the fall of 1978 Chantek was brought to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where the " project Chantek " was established. The aim of this long-term project under the direction of Lyn Miles, it was not to provide a general language ability of great apes to prove, but to gain insight into the cognitive and communicative processes of language development.

Within the project Chantek grew in constant contact with people. He was social behavior and handling rules taught ( enculturation ). A communication medium, the American Sign Language (ASL ) has been selected. A part of Chanteks nursing staff consisted of deaf who used this sign language throughout.

After seven years of training Chantek had a language of 140 words, including objects, actions, proper nouns and pronouns. Chantek developed a matter of new combinations of characters to describe things and actions. So he called the contact lens solution of his handlers as " eye drink" ( " Eye drink "). However, its syntax was limited and did not reach the application, just like she obtained, for example, the female gorilla Koko. No other orangutan, however, has so far has a larger vocabulary.

Within the project Chantek also learned the basic handling of money. He was able to purchase coins that he could trade with his supervisor Miles to treat the fulfillment of tasks. Chantek tried to reproduce by the breaking of the poker chips initially used his fortune and exchange all the more. To this end he tried after the switch to metal coins, produce their own coins with the help of aluminum foil. It was also demonstrated that Chantek had the ability to deceive. So he pretended to have swallowed a stolen eraser in order to not have to return it.

Classification of intelligence development

In a test based on the Bayley Scale for Child Development Chantek reached the age of 24 months, the level of 13.6 months -old human child. At the age of 55 months, he was classified on the basis of Uzgiris Hunt Infacy Assessment Scales like a toddler 18-14 months. With five and a half years it the status of an approximately two -year old child was attested, whereby it (eg language comprehension and use of tools ) had the skills of a four year old child in some areas.

Further development

From 1986 to 1997 Chantek was again housed at the Yerkes Primate Research Center because the research facilities of the University of Tennessee were too small for him. There he was subjected to any further language training and took at that time strongly on weight. Chantek weighed about 450 pounds when he moved to the zoo from Atlanta in 1997. Here Lyn Miles took the work with him again. She noted that he possessed even after more than a decade, yet have knowledge of sign language. Chanteks weight has been dramatically reduced through a diet program in the Atlanta Zoo.

Chanteks proven self-consciousness and its level of development meant that he was constantly used by scientists and animal rights activists as an example, to call for a fundamental personal rights for apes.

The documentary They Call Him Chantek shows the close bond between Chantek and the researcher Lyn Miles, who tries in the film over a period of one year to allow the orang means of a speech synthesizer and verbal communication.