You probably know that many apes have been taught sign language. The most famous, Koko the gorilla, knows over 1,000 words. Koko once signed "pain" to her trainers, and pointed to her mouth. Sure enough, she had a bad tooth and needed a dental appointment. A medical team was rushed in immediately.
(This leads me to wonder which health insurance plan she has, and can I get on it?)
Anyway, the New York Times recently described an experiment where two gorillas who knew how to sign were paired up to see if they would have a conversation, and what they might talk about. Researchers speculated they might gossip about other gorillas, their trainers, or food.
The gorillas began signing almost immediately. But the hoped for conversation quickly devolved in to a "shouting" match with each gorilla signing furiously and trying to dominate the conversation. Apparently neither had any interest in actually listening to the other.
It turns out that one of the gorillas was a Rush Limbaugh fan, and the other preferred Jon Stewart.
Just kidding!
I made a joke there because I was reluctant to share the truth: both of the gorillas were male.
Surely more study is called for. Zoologists: don't leave us hanging - please try this with two females!
The obvious point: some part of our animal nature may be hard-wired for dominance, but the key to relationships is listening.
© 2007 Greg Tamblyn