Washoe (chimpanzee)
Washoe (c. September 1965 Ellensburg – October 30, 2007) was a female chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language, as part of a research experiment on animal language acquisition.
Washoe learned approximately 350 words of ASL. She also taught her adopted son Loulis some American Sign Language. Using similar teaching methods, several other chimpanzees were later taught 150 or more signs, which they were able to combine to form complex messages.
Read more about Washoe (chimpanzee): Early Life, Self-awareness and Emotion, Later Life, and Death, Impact On Bioethics, Related Animal Language Projects, Quotes