Humans have a propensity to overestimate our position at the top of the food chain.
We take for granted that we are the most intelligent animals on the planet without ever questioning
what distinguishes us.
Is it object persistence, planning ability, tool use, or the fact that humans build complex
social relationships?
Other animal species have some of these characteristics, and others have all of them.
Many species' survival would be impossible without their particular intelligence.
Many animals are able to navigate their area securely and seek food by learning to recognize
distinct paths and landmarks along the way.
To avoid becoming a meal, some must recall tactics for dodging and outwitting predators.
And many animals develop emotional intelligence that may surprise you!
But what if we told you that there is one Gorilla who mastered sign language and revealed
something quite disturbing?
How is this even possible?
Stay until the end to know everything about this tragic story!
Michael the gorilla was born in Africa, became a bushmeat orphan, and arrived from the Vienna
Zoo to the Gorilla Foundation in the United States at the age of three, joining Koko,
another female gorilla, when she was six.
Michael possessed a working vocabulary of approximately 600 signs in American Sign Language,
which he had learned from Koko, Dr. Francine Patterson (to whom the gorillas referred using
the sign "penny"), and other Stanford University personnel.
Michael spent the majority of his life in Woodside, California, where he rose to fame
as a local celebrity and painter known for his vibrantly colored abstract works.
Michael's favorite color was yellow, and he enjoyed watching Sesame Street and Mister
Rogers.
He liked to look at photographs and listen to Luciano Pavarotti.
Michael also enjoyed painting and took it seriously, as opposed to Koko, who painted
for fun.
Michael's parents were murdered when he was a newborn.
According to the film Koko: Conversation with a Gorilla, his handlers believed he was attempting
to explain his mother's death at the hands of poachers through sign language.
He was taken to live with Koko at Stanford when he was three years old.
Within his first year at The Gorilla Foundation, Michael learnt 20 words.
The following is an example of Michael's description of an event that humans at The Gorilla Foundation
believe to be his mother's death—killed by bushmeat poachers when he was young: "Squash
meat gorilla.
Mouth tooth.
Cry sharp-noise loud.
Bad think-trouble look-face.
Cut/neck lip (girl) hole."
Both Michael and Koko used the word "stink" to refer to "flowers," and they used the word
"lip" to refer to "girl."
The two gorillas used a modified version of American Sign Language signs that were modified
for their physical abilities.
This was necessary due to the fact that humans and apes have fundamentally different musculoskeletal
structures.
Deaf people who use sign language frequently come up with new signs by combining two or
more existing signs in order to represent a notion for which they do not have a sign.
In addition, signs are sometimes repeated or emphasized in an exaggerated manner to
convey emphasis.
The strategies of repetition, exaggeration, and the development of new signs by combining
existing signs are also utilized by the so-called simian 'signers'.
Unfortunately, Michael died in the year 2000, at the age of 27.
However, researchers continue to learn and be inspired by him – through his life, his
ongoing effect on Koko, the tremendous amount of data they gathered on him, and the exciting
current brain research that provide biological context for his amazing intelligence and sensitivity.
Michael's capacity to sign the execution of his mother demonstrates how gorillas are not
only capable of communicating their desires and needs, but also of looking back and reflecting
on memories.
These extraordinarily intelligent creatures are aware of pain and have feelings about
events in their lives.
Koko, also later died in her sleep at age 46, According to The Gorilla Foundation, she
became an international celebrity during her lifetime, with a repertoire of over 1,000
signals and the ability to understand 2,000 words of spoken English.
Koko appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine twice: the first time in October
1978, with an image of herself in a mirror (perhaps making it one of the earliest prominent
animal selfies).
She also appeared on the cover for the second time in January 1985, in a story about Koko
and her beloved kitty.
As the most publicized member of the critically endangered western lowland gorilla population,
Koko helped raise awareness for her species' plight.
“Because she was smart enough to comprehend and use aspects of our language, Koko could
show us what all great apes are capable of: reasoning about their world, and loving and
grieving the other beings to whom they become attached,” Barbara King, a professor emerita
of anthropology at the College of William and Mary, says by email.
“Equally importantly, though, she raised our awareness of the costs to animal individuals
of our scientific curiosity about other sentient lives,” says King, author of How Animals
Grieve.
“Even as we celebrate her life, we must remember that Koko was made to live in confinement
in a highly unnatural way from her infancy through her death.”
Research and interaction with Koko and Michael, as well as other gorillas, have proven that
great apes have language abilities comparable to little children.
Teaching Koko and other animals sign language, rather than attempting verbal communication,
was a "great leap forward," according to Anne Russon, a researcher at York University.
Koko's attitude exhibited emotions akin to those of humans, in addition to language.
Among the numerous human-like characteristics that distinguished Koko was her sense of humor,
as well as a playful mischievousness.
In addition to Michael and Koko, there are a few additional animals who possess a high
level of intelligence.
One of the most intelligent animals is our closest genetic relative.
Chimpanzees are native to Sub-Saharan Africa and share 98 percent of their DNA with humans.
They are skilled tool users, and chimps have been observed improvising tools from available
items to make what they require.
These great apes use psychological strategies as well; within their own families, they will
persuade others to complete specific tasks.
Scientists discovered adult members of a family unit teaching their young sign language, which
is a unique fact regarding chimps.
The most intriguing aspect of that revelation is that there was no human intervention or
encouragement at all; the chimps taught the children sign language and were using it to
communicate amongst themselves.
A video of a chimp scrolling through Instagram recently became viral on the internet.
However, it came as no surprise to primate researchers who are aware of how intelligent
our closest relatives are.
And it was far from the first chimp to captivate the public's attention with extraordinary
abilities.
Washoe the chimp became the first non-human to acquire American sign language in the 1970s.
Behavioral scientists taught her 350 signals and she was quickly able to compose basic
conversations.
However, in 1982, she astounded her keepers by displaying empathy and a mother's anguish
at the loss of a child....
Washoe, who was 17 at the time, had grown close to a pregnant volunteer named Kat Beech
who worked at her university's Washington campus.
The chimp adored Kat and would gesture to her bulging belly and exclaim, "BABY."
She had been pregnant herself but had miscarried both of her children; one due to a heart abnormality,
and the other due to a respiratory disease; as a result, she developed depression.
But Kat's growing belly piqued her interest.
Washoe was clearly perplexed and disturbed when Kat unexpectedly stopped visiting.
Washoe had the hump by the time she returned some weeks later, and she gave Kat the cold
shoulder.
So, Kat apologized to Washoe and decided to tell her the truth...that she had miscarried.
As a result, she signed, "MY BABY DIED."
Washoe gazed at her, then down.
She finally looked Kat in the eyes again and carefully signed "CRY," stroking her face
and dragging her finger down the path a tear would make on a human - despite the fact that
chimps don't cry.
And When Kat prepared to leave that day, Washoe signed "PLEASE PERSON HUG."
It was a remarkable moment in a truly remarkable story.
Moving on, bottlenose dolphins are a species that is significantly intelligent than chimps.
How intelligent is a dolphin?
To be honest, it depends; there are over eight species of dolphin, but the bottlenose dolphin
is the most intelligent of them all.
They have the highest brain size of any dolphin species, and they are the only dolphin without
fused cervical vertebrae, allowing them to make human-like head nodding gestures.
Dolphins can recognize themselves in mirrors, notice unfamiliar marks on their bodies in
a reflection, recognize scenes on television, and have an outstanding memory.
Dolphins have been found to remember their mates' cries even after being apart for more
than 20 years.
They have a vocabulary that is unique to their species, but when they come across other species
of dolphin, they convert to a "common language" in order to communicate with one another.
They have also been seen working together with members of other species, such as humans
and false killer whales, in order to hunt more efficiently.
The orangutan, like chimps, can use tools, acquire sign language, and has sophisticated
social structures that include rituals.
What truly distinguishes them is the cognitive ability to comprehend the 'why,' or the reasoning
behind a particular action.
An orangutan in captivity has learned how to use tools and how to build a basic structure.
When researchers released him into the wild, they saw the same orangutan creating tools
from what he could find and then erecting a similar structure to protect himself from
the rain.
Given that it shares almost 97 percent of its DNA with humans, it's no wonder that the
orangutan is so intelligent.
When compared to other animal species, their tool use is unparalleled.
They can be taught to use a hammer and nails, and orangutans have even learnt to syphon
liquids using a hose.
They are native to Indonesia and are critically endangered due to habitat loss.
Let’s hear your thoughts about these species in the comments down below.