A West African-born chimpanzee who was able to identify more than 100 Chinese characters as well as the English alphabet, died in Japan at the age of 49.
Ai, widely known as a “genius” chimpanzee, passed away on 9 January from multiple organ failure linked to old age, surrounded by staff who had cared for her for decades, Kyoto University’s Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behaviour said in a statement.
