Great Ape Trust Research Program Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh is a scientist with special standing at Great Ape Trust of Iowa – a world-class research center dedicated to studying the behavior and intelligence of great apes. The first and only scientist to conduct language research with bonobos, Savage-Rumbaugh joined Great Ape Trust in 2005 following a …
Name: PanbanishaBirthday: November 17, 1985Favorite food: EggsFavorite game: Hide & seekFavorite toy: Play-Doh (?clay?) Conceived and born at Georgia State University’s Language Research Center in 1985, Panbanisha is the daughter of Matata. Panbanisha, which is Swahili for “cleave together for the purpose of contrast,” was co-reared with Panzee, a chimpanzee, from the time of birth until the age of four. Like Kanzi, …
Name: MatataBirthday: 1970 (wild born)Favorite food: BananasFavorite game: GroomingFavorite toy: Blanket The matriarch and uncontested dominant member of Great Ape Trust’s bonobo group, Matata, was one of five bonobos brought to the Yerkes Research Center in 1975 as part of an effort, funded by the National Academy of Sciences, to establish a bonobo research station in the Congo. At puberty, …
Kanzi is the bonobo superstar. He is regarded as the first great ape that demonstrated an understanding of spoken English.