Chimpanzee Ai, famous for recognizing letters and numbers, dies at 49
A female chimpanzee popular for her ability to recognize letters and numbers has died of old age and multiple organ failure at 49 years of age, according to Kyoto University's Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior in Inuyama, Aichi Prefecture, Kyodo reported.
Ai, born in western Africa in 1976, was brought to the center the following year.
By just 18 months old, she had begun language learning with the help of computers and other materials.
Over the decades, Ai became a central figure in groundbreaking research. She demonstrated remarkable literacy skills, such as identifying the kanji character for “green” after being shown a green image. Her achievements were highlighted in Nature magazine in 1985.
Ai’s life was also marked by memorable moments: in 1989 she escaped her cage with another chimpanzee, apparently unlocking a padlock with a key. In 2000, she gave birth to a son, Ayumu, whose own abilities later drew international attention to studies of parent-child knowledge transfer.
Earlier, it was reported that some dogs can expand their vocabulary simply by listening to conversations between humans, according to a new study published in the journal Science.