Zoo chimpanzees get to grips with language research

Published on 27/04/2004 01:00

NEW research into the language of chimpanzees has been undertaken at Edinburgh Zoo.

Katie Slocombe, a PhD student at St Andrews University, spent a year at the zoo studying the language and behaviour of the chimps.

The work with the 11 chimps, which range in age from four-year-old infant Liberius to 40-year-old Ricky, is aimed at deciphering the animals’ language.

It was followed up by a study of the animals in the wild, listening to chimps in the Budongo Forest, Uganda.

The research is being led by Dr Klaus Zuberbhler, a psychologist at the University of St Andrews and a highly regarded world authority on primate behaviour.

Previous studies have shown chimps produce specific calls in response to events such as the appearance of a predator, an evolutionary survival trait.

There is also evidence to show the animals use language in a social context, with some believing they can use reference sounds in their calls which are readily identified by all the animals in that group as representing a specific object or event.

The results will be presented in the talk given by the pair at Edinburgh Zoo tomorrow. Tickets cost 5 and the talk starts at 7.30pm.