Adorable baby chimp pulls faces to visitors at Dallas Zoo
Ai, a West African-born chimpanzee renowned for her cognitive abilities, has died in Japan at the age of 49 from multiple organ failure linked to old age.
She was the central figure of the pioneering “Ai Project” at Kyoto University, which aimed to understand how chimpanzees perceive, remember, and interpret the world.
Ai demonstrated remarkable skills, including recognising Arabic numerals from zero to nine, 11 different colours, over 100 Chinese characters, and the English alphabet.
Her participation in studies, which began at about a year old using a computer-linked keyboard, provided crucial insights into the chimpanzee mind and the evolution of the human mind.
Ai was also known for her artistic talents and gave birth to a son, Ayumu, who later became famous for his own exceptional memory.
