KANZI
Kanzi is a superstar. He was born to Lorel on October 28th, 1980, and was adopted by Matata when he was 6 months old. Kanzi is Elikya and Maisha’s adopted brother, and Nyota and Teco’s uncle. He is regarded as the first great ape to demonstrate an understanding of spoken English. Kanzi comprehends novel sentences and combines lexigram symbols to describe new objects and foods. He enjoys playing water-chase, tickling with his pals Teco and Clara, and using his lexigram keyboard to ask his caregivers for his favorite foods - bananas, grapes, and peanuts. Kanzi is truly one-of-a-kind!
KANZI’S TRANSFORMATION
Sadly, due to years of mismanagement by the previous organization, Kanzi became severely overweight. When Ape Initiative took over the care of Kanzi and his bonobo family, we made it a priority to improve the bonobos’ welfare. We started Kanzi on a species appropriate diet and increased his opportunities for physical activity, leading to his tremendous transformation - losing over 75 pounds! We are so proud of Kanzi’s progress and are committed to informing and improving the welfare of bonobos worldwide.
