As I was reading Inside Animal Hearts and Minds by Belinda Recio (2017) this morning, I came across a name that sounded familiar."In the 1970s, anthropologist Lyn Miles began teaching an orangutan named Chantek how to sign. Chantek learned 150 signs over eight years, and also understood many words of spoken English. Chantek used short strings of signs to make phrases, and one of his most interesting phrases expressed his wish for privacy: when he wanted a confidential exchange, he would sign 'secret' and make his gestures small in an effort to conceal them. If people were visiting and Chantek wanted a moment alone with Miles, he would sign 'I you talk,' while pointing to a location away from the visitors" (loc. 1346).
I googled and discovered that Dr. H. Lyn Miles was a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in the 1970s, where I got my first degree in 1975. I also recognize the bricks of one of the UTC buildings in the top photo of her holding little Chantek on a snowy day. See the snowball he's reaching for? The article I found told me Chantek had ballooned to 490 pounds when he died in August 2017 at the age of 39, after spending the last eleven years of his life in a tiny cell. Read the article for the sad reason he was locked up. Though he forgot many of the words she had taught him, Chantek never forgot how to sign "I love you" to Dr. Miles. (The photos by the Associated Press are from the article.)
2 comments:
Amazing story. Wouldn't it be something to work so closely with animals? Here is my weekly update
I find the teaching of sign language to animals both fascinating and sad. Actually, it's how I feel about zoos as well. Seeing the animals is great, but I feel bad that we've got them in small spaces.
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