About Friends of Washoe

Established in 1981, Friends of Washoe is a non-profit organization (501.c3) dedicated to the welfare of chimpanzees and especially the chimpanzees at the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute located on the campus of Central Washington University, in Ellensburg, Washington.

Washoe, who passed away in October of 2007, took the idea of talking with animals out of the realms of fables and science fiction, and into the realm of scientific fact. Her accomplishments over the past three decades have had profound effects on changing scientific thought, influencing a wide variety of academic disciplines. Being the first chimpanzee to learn a human language and pass it on to her adopted son, Washoe was truly unique. Her accomplishments have also helped humans better understand their responsibilities to our fellow animals.

Important changes in primate communication research and our understanding of the world continue to unfold. As human beings, we are evermore concerned with understanding and protecting our earth for the benefit of both human and non-human citizens.

While our human awareness and compassion is rapidly expanding to include a greater concern for our biosphere and its inhabitants, our ignorance still remains a critical problem. Communication is fundamental to removing ignorance and replacing it with understanding. We feel that communication is the one behavior most critical for future survival. Washoe has helped replace some of our ignorance about communication with an understanding of ourselves, as well as other beings. This is one reason why we have committed our lives to a project that focuses on the understanding of communication and chimpanzees.

Our research is unique in that neither the research nor the researchers have first priority. The first priority is three fold: Tatu, Dar and Loulis. Our philosophy is that the chimpanzees did not apply for immigration status; they were, and still are, incarcerated against their wills. While we can leave the building when we wish, the chimpanzees cannot. We, as researchers and more importantly as friends and caring human beings, must do as much as possible to better the lives of chimpanzees.

Through Friends of Washoe and CHCI, we have persistently worked to help save free-living chimpanzees and captive chimpanzees from senseless exploitation and extinction. We attribute much of our success to what Washoe has taught us.

Another goal of Friends of Washoe is to support the humane and innovative research at Central Washington University that focuses on the study of chimpanzee language acquisition and its application to human understanding.

The funds necessary for the care of Washoe's family come primarily from fee-based educational programs and Friends of Washoe memberships.

Roger and Deborah Fouts founded the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI) at Central Washington University in 1992. CHCI is an institute dedicated to the better understanding of communication, both human and chimpanzee. It also provides increased educational opportunities for students and the general public. Together with Friends of Washoe, CHCI assures the humane care and support of these chimpanzees.