Moja (
Swahili: "one") was a
chimpanzee
The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...
at the
Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute. She was born at the
Laboratory for Experimental Medicine and Surgery in Primates (LEMSIP). In infanthood Moja was treated in a similar way to a child, and immersed in an environment of
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...
.
While engaging in play activities, she was observed changing her appearance in the presence of a mirror using clothing, masks and make-up. She was also observed to place sunglasses upon her head, look into a mirror and make the sign-language sign for "glasses" on one occasion, also using the mirror for the application of lip-gloss and a crayon for the same purpose.
Moja is known as "the first ape to paint figurative works." For example, she drew a circle, colored it orange, and signed ''cherry''.
See also
*
List of individual apes
This is a list of non-human apes of encyclopedic interest. It includes individual chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, and gibbons that are in some way famous or notable.
Actors
* J. Fred Muggs (a chimpanzee born 1952) was a "co-host" ...
References
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Individual chimpanzees