The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI) was located on the campus of

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Lif ...

Ellensburg, Washington Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and ...

. CHCI included a sanctuary for chimpanzees who have learned to communicate with humans and each other using

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 of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. CHCI's director was

Mary Lee Jensvold Mary Lee Jensvold is a senior lecturer at Central Washington University. She was the Director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute ( CHCI) located on the campus of Central Washington University. CHCI was the home of the chimpanzee ...

. It was founded by former co-directors Roger Fouts and Deborah Fouts. The institute was closed in 2013 when the remaining chimpanzees were transferred to facilities in Quebec, Canada and the building the facility was housed in, was demolished in 2018. Portions of the specialized structures used to house the chimps were dismantled and moved to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in

Cle Elum Cle Elum ( ) is a city in Kittitas County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,872 at the 2010 census. About by car from Seattle, Cle Elum is a popular area for camping and outdoor activities. History Native history Cle Elum wa ...

, for future use.

Former resident chimpanzees

* Washoe, September, 1965 - October 30, 2007. Washoe was the first non-human primate to learn some rudimentary forms of ASL, a true human language. * Loulis, May 10, 1978 - (moved out in 2013). Loulis is Washoe's adopted son and was the subject of a project that examined whether he would learn sign language from other chimpanzees. The complete research was not published in a peer-reviewed journal, but can be found in the 1989 book ''Teaching Sign Language to Chimpanzees'' edited by Allen and Beatrix Gardner. * Tatu, 1975 - (moved out in 2013) * Dar, 1976 - 2012 * Moja, 1972 - 2002 Loulis and Tatu, the remaining two chimpanzees in the center after the natural death of Washoe and Dar, moved to the Fauna Foundation in Quebec in late August 2013, where they will be integrated into an existing group of eleven chimpanzees.

History

In September 1980, Washoe, Loulis, and Moja moved to

. Tatu and Dar followed the next year. The chimpanzees were originally housed on the third floor of the university's psychology complex. Roger Fouts and Deborah Fouts with their students advocated for, and lobbied the campus and the state legislature for a specialized facility, and the CHCI complex was opened on May 7, 1993. More than twenty years later, on August 28, 2013, the last two remaining chimpanzees moved out of the CHCI.

Mission

CHCI promotes advocacy of chimpanzee conservation and the promotion of primate intellect. The sanctuary hosted public sessions, Chimposiums, which allowed the public to see the chimpanzees in action. For safety reasons, no one—visitors or staff—had physical contact with the chimpanzees.

Research opportunities

CHCI provides research opportunities for both undergraduates and graduates. When it housed the chimpanzees, many volunteered as docents or assistants within the center while others conducted research on primate behavior. Research projects which inconvenienced the chimpanzees in any way were not permitted; therefore, research was mostly observational.

References

External links