Long recognised as human beings' most intellegent cousins, for the last thirty years scientists have been studying apes at close quarters and teaching them to communicate via American Sign Language.
This startling documentary examines the evidence for apes' self-awareness and asks if chimpanzee Washoe, raised as if she were a human child, might be The Cleverest Ape In The World. Washoe's keeper, American psychologist Roger Fouts, is convinced she is. He claims Washoe, now 35 years old, has a vocabulary of 1000 signs, and understands 3000. At two years old she was forming simple sentences and commenting on her surroundings. But does this really prove that apes are self-aware? Scientist Herb Terrace also observed Washoe and concluded she was merely imitating Fout. Others agree. There is nothing to prove, detractors claim that these 'conversations' are simply instances of word association, conducted without any understanding on Washoe's part at all. But after 30 years of studying ape intelligence, Fouts is convinced that Washoe and apes like her are self-aware, and that they fo understand everything they say. Washoe now lives with four other apes at Ellensberg University, all of whom communicate by sign language. They obtain all they need by asking, from food to magazines and toys, suggesting they understand sign langage and use words in their proper context, Significantly, Washoe has taught her adopted son to sign and the pair communicate int his way even at moments of intense stress, More than this, claims Fouts, the apes spontaneously create their own words, an ability that cannot be taight and must imply geunine understanding. Could this be the definitive proof of ape's intelligence?
