Chantek the orangutan dies at 39
A male orangutan who was among the first apes to learn sign language has died at age 39 in the US. Lyn Miles is professor of anthropology at the University of Tennessee and Chantek’s former trainer. She tells Today: "I measured his development at various stages, by the time he was about four years old he had learned about 100 signs, he began to invent his own words, he invented a word for ketchup - he took his sign for tooth paste and his sign for tomatoes and put them together - tomato paste." She added: "The last time I saw him not too long ago he asked me for meat cheese bread and for me to get the car and take him home." (Image: Chantek the orangutan; Credit: BBC)