Going ape

Those of us who have read of this primate's seemingly extraordinary communicative abilities will be interested in this item: Chimpanzee famous for using sign language dies. "Washoe, a female chimpanzee said to be the first non-human to acquire human language, has died of natural causes at the U.S. research institute where she was kept." May she rest in peace.

In the meantime, few may be aware that Cheeta, the chimpanzee from the old Tarzan movies of the 1930s and '40s, is still alive and reputed to be the world's oldest chimp.