Kanzi, The Bonobo

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CNN's Anderson Cooper will feature bonobo from Great Ape Trust
Updated 12:15 pm



Fresh from an appearance on Oprah a week ago, Des Moines’ celebrity ape, Kanzi, will meet this week with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

Cooper, who hosts a weeknight prime-time news program called AC 360, will videotape Kanzi and other bonobos at the Great Ape Trust.

Kanzi is the trust’s most visible resident. He communicates with humans by pointing to a complex set of symbols that were created by scientists to teach language to Kanzi and other bonobos.

In addition to appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show last week, Kanzi has been on a role lately, appearing in Time magazine and USA Today and on CNN and PBS during the past two months.

The Great Ape Trust also provided background for a new novel by Sara Gruen called Ape House which is about a fictitous family of language competent apes living in a language laboratory similar to the Des Moines facility.

Kanzi is used to media attention, said Great Ape Trust spokesman Al Setka. The bonobo, who turns 30 later this month, has been dealing with reporters since he was born at a research center in Atlanta, Ga.

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Meet Kanzi, the bonobo great ape
soon to be a star on Anderson Cooper 360º