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The
National Geographic ran an article on Betsy, a long haired border
collie with a 350 word vocabulary. Later, New Scientist
reported that another border collie, named Chaser, knew the names
of 1022 items. Chaser could also group many items by
function and shape.
An African gray parrot named Alex learned the names of 50
different things and could tell the difference between 7 colors
and 5 shapes. He had a vocabulary of about 150 words and
could count. Alex's last words, spoken to his owner and
teacher, were "You be good. See you tomorrow. I love you."
Another African Grey Parrot named N'kisi has a growing vocabulary
of 950 words and the ability to use them in context, frequently in
complete sentences. In a story told by Jane Goodall, after
seeing a photo of the acclaimed primatologist, N'kisi had the
opportunity to meet her in person, whereupon he looked at her and
asked, "Got a chimp?"
Lucy Temerlin had a preference for gin, and would happily put on
tea when her tutor came to visit. This would be perfectly
normal except for the fact that Lucy was a chimp. Brought up
like a human, Temerlin and his wife taught Lucy to eat with
silverware, sit at the dinner table, and even dress herself.
Lucy learned more than 140 words in sign language, which she used
regularly, and in a way that showed that she understood what she
was signing. Koko, a female western lowland gorilla, is able
to understand more than 1,000 signs in "Gorilla Sign Language"
(GSL). Koko also understands approximately 2,000 words of
spoken English. Koko is one of the few non-humans known to
keep a pet (she's a cat ape).
Parrots might talk and apes might gesture, while a dog can only
bark, yip, woof, warble, whine, howl, growl, snarl, sniff,
bristle, huff, pant, sneeze, wiggle, wag, droop, perk, circle,
point, bend, jump, hop, crawl, bow, pull, nip, hit, bump, scratch,
kick, dig, hike and dance in just so many ways; apes and parrots
are smart but it is evident that an animal order of intelligence
is subjective: so let's be polite to our close canine friends and
give them the benefit of the doubt. |
