The chimpanzee who is alleged to be the first non-human to learn American Sign Language, Washoe, died of old age at Central Washington University's Ellensburg campus, where she lived since 1980. Washoe was older than 40 and died Tuesday night, according to Roger and Deborah Fouts, co-founders of The Chimpanzee and Human Communications Institute (CHCI)on the campus, quoted by AP.

"Washoe was an emissary, bringing us a message of respect for nature. She was a dear friend to so many; we will miss her," said CHCI co-founders Roger and Deborah Fouts.

Strangely enough, a memorial service for the linguist chimp will be held on November 12.

"Being the first chimpanzee to learn a human language and pass it on to her adopted son, Washoe is truly unique," Friends of Washoe, a non-profit support group, wrote on their website.

Washoe also taught sign language to three younger chimps who remain at the institute: Tatu, 31, Loulis, 29, and Dar, 31. However, many scientists argue that chimps can never learn any language, not even ASL. MIT linguist Noam Chomsky and Harvard scientist Steven Pinker are among the skeptics who point out that Washoe probably just learned to perform certain acts, specifically ASL signs, to receive awards.

Language scientists such as Chomsky also say that the neural requirements for language developed in humans after the evolutionary split between humans and other primates. Steven Pinker believes that the argument that Washoe is the first non-human to acquire a human language is generally considered without scientific support.

Washoe was born in West Africa about 1965. A similar experiment, the Nim Chimpsky project, failed to replicate the results of Washoe with a chimpanzee in a different experimental setting, leading to further controversy.

Photo credit: Central Washington University