5 ‘Talking’ Chimps Set to Make a Move

Central Washington University’s “talking” chimpanzees will get a new home next year, and fund-raising efforts are under way to give them a place to play as well.

Although the Legislature has authorized a $1.5-million home for the chimps, lawmakers did not finance an outdoor play and exercise area for the five chimpanzees--the first in the world to learn human sign language.

Researchers Roger and Debbi Fouts said they need to raise $650,000 to build a secure outdoor area that will provide the chimps with sunlight, swinging and climbing apparatus and other amenities.

The drive began in Seattle in January with a fund-raiser, with Gov. Booth Gardner as host. The Foutses also intend to solicit donations by mail.

The new home and play area are essential for the chimps, who have been caged on the third floor of the university’s psychology building for years, Roger Fouts said.

“Washoe hasn’t seen the sun in 10 years,” he said. Washoe was the first animal ever to learn a human language.

The research has been under way at the school since 1980, when Roger Fouts moved to this small central Washington farm and college town from the University of Oklahoma.

Financing has been a constant struggle.

Although he is paid as a faculty member of the university, his wife is a volunteer, and chimp care depends on the help of up to 15 students. The university provides just $1,000 a year for the chimps’ care.

Financial help comes from 500 subscribers who pay $25 a year for the Foutses’ newsletter. Much of the chimps’ food is donated by grocery stores and farmers, Roger Fouts said.

Pizza parlors occasionally donate pizzas. “Washoe doesn’t like pepperoni,” Debbi Fouts said.

The new building was needed because the constant cleaning of the animal cages was causing water damage to the psychology building and the chimps’ noise disrupted classes.

The new building, set for groundbreaking this spring and completion next year, also will provide better public access to the chimps, which the Foutses hope will increase donations.

The chimps weigh up to 150 pounds and have the strength of eight grown men, so security is important. “People in Ellensburg wouldn’t want them walking into their houses and looking in the refrigerator,” Roger Fouts said.

The Foutses’ research is behavioral, not biomedical, so a good environment for the chimps is essential to good results.

“We’re hoping this gives them more things to sign about, and more interesting things to do,” Roger Fouts said. The ability to swing more freely by the arms will also make the chimps happier, he said.

To the Foutses, the Washoe Project is “like the moon shot of the behavioral sciences.”