Chimp Who Communicated With Sign Language Dies
Posted: 8:58 a.m. EDT June 27, 2002
ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- Moja, one of the "talking"
chimps at Central
Washington University, has died from
complications of an internal
abdominal hernia.
Moja, 29, died June 6. She was one of five chimps
at the university's
Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute, a
sanctuary for adult
chimpanzees who communicate with humans and each
other using American Sign
Language.
The hernia destroyed Moja's bowel, and she died
as a result, said
institute co-director Roger Fouts.
Moja was born at the Laboratory for Experimental
Medicine and Surgery in
Primates in Tuxedo, N.Y. Her name is a Swahili
word for "first."
Moja liked to dress up, especially in red, and
look at herself in the
mirror. She was considered somewhat high strung
and was the most
submissive of the institute's chimps.
"She could talk about most things," Fouts said.
"She would ask for a
favorite dress ... and say what color she
wanted."
Moja was raised much as if she were a deaf human
child. Her signing
vocabulary was about 180 words and phrases.
"She could tell you how she felt," he said.
She could also draw pictures and tell lab workers
what the figures
represented.
A public memorial was planned for 1 p.m. Saturday
on the lawn in front of
the institute.
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