Washoe

This weekend, I had the special gift of crossing off an item on my "things to do before I die" list.
2 hours from Seattle, Washington, nestled in the desert University town of Ellensburg lives Washoe. Washoe is a 41-year-old Chimpanzee and the first Chimp to be taught ASL back in the 70's. Orginially selected for the space program, Washoe was then selected and raised by Beatrice and Allen Gardener as a deaf child in a pyschology project on communication and culture. The Ape language studies were plagued with controversy and disagreement and Washoe was caught in the middle. She came under the care of Dr. Roger Fouts who continued communication research. Washoe however, is an Ape who does not think she is an Ape.

In graduate school in Primatology I was fascinated by the Ape language studies and by Washoe. She now lives in a Sanctuary with three other Chimps who learned signed language with Roger Fouts. They are in a unique facility where "The Chimps come first" and which is supported by the University of Central Washington and by The Friends of Washoe.

I only had ten minutes to see Washoe and there was no melding of our minds. She did not look across the enclosure and see me and come lumbering over, signing secret messages. She had no idea of the connection that I feel to her. It was hard to just sit there, listen to the pained presentation of undergraduate docents and just be happy with seeing her. But I saw her, and she signed "shoes" (she apparently has a shoe fetish) and I held up my shoe for her to see. It was one of my Chinese flp flop slippers from New York. I am sure she appreciated it.



Note: Washoe died Tuesday, October 30, 2007. She was 42 years old. RIP my little friend.