Ai, a well-known female chimpanzee known for her intelligence and research work, has passed away at the age of 49.
She died peacefully on January 9 due to old age and organ failure at Kyoto University’s research center in Japan, with staff members by her side.
Ai, who also liked to draw and paint on paper was taken from West Africa to Japan in 1977 and became the main subject of a research project studying how chimpanzees think.
Scientists found that she was intelligent enough to understand numbers and recognize colours.
Scientists trained Ai with special computer keyboard from a very young age and by the time she was five, she could recognize numbers, colours and objects easily.
Ai could recognize more than 100 Chinese characters and the English alphabet and could also identify the numbers from zero to nine and 11 different colours.
It was also reported that she once escaped from her cage with another chimpanzee by using a key to unlock it.
In 2000 she gave birth to a son, Ayumu, who is also known for his remarkable memory.
Ai’s exceptional intelligence led scientists to study her in many research papers and media programs, including studies in the prestigious journal Nature.
