Questions About Chimpanzees
Answered by
Elizabeth Vinson Lonsdorf

Elizabeth says...

10) How do they communicate?

It's well known that in the wild, chimps communicate by vocalizing, body postures and facial expressions. It is also likely that they communicate quite a bit by smell, but that has not been studied well. In captivity, chimps have been taught to communicate in a variety of ways including American Sign Language. The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute has some fabulous communication information on a chimpanzee named Washoe that can communicate with sign language.