Man's Heritage: Kanzi, An Ape Of Genius
Pearl, 8.30pm
For the past few Thursdays, we have been getting acquainted with our ape cousins. Tonight is no exception, with what is said to be the most intelligent ape in the world the star of the show. Kanzi is the 'genius' pygmy chimpanzee who can express his feelings, and who has memorised more than 1,000 words and can conduct complex conversations with his human researchers, with the help of a specially constructed electronic keyboard and speech synthesiser. He can understand such subtle linguistic differences as 'put milk in the coffee' and 'put coffee in the milk'.
Of course, he is not the only celebrity ape to boast such achievements: Koko the gorilla can manage 2,000 words and 1,000 signs. Although it may seem otherwise, the study of these animals does have a higher purpose than television entertainment, contributing to understanding the development of human intelligence, and our own evolution. Comparisons are now being made between Kanzi's brain and that of a child. Research has shown pygmy chimps are more intelligent than children under age three.
Kanzi, like Koko and most other subjects of primate research, is tutored by a woman, in this case Dr Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, of Georgia State University. What is it that makes women rather than men enjoy this close communication with apes? That, one day, may be a topic of other research.
National Geographic: A Passion For Pythons; Lights! Camera! Bears!; Zoo Dentist
World, 10pm