Francine Neago
Encyclopedia
Dr. Francine Neago is a primatologist
and conservationist
specializing in orangutan
s. In addition to her internationally televised films about orangutans she has lectured worldwide and published several scientific papers in the Journal of Primatology
(New York).
At UCLA she developed a computer system in conjunction with IBM
later used by the Smithsonian National Zoo
to teach language to orangutans http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ThinkTank/ResearchProjects/OLP/default.cfm, and organized and directed the world's first orangutan language study. With the aid of a computer, she taught an ape
named Bulan English language arts, sign language
and a method she devised for spelling in a phonetic alphabet
. Encyclopædia Britannica
first listed her language program in 1988 http://web.archive.org/web/20050910222701/www.orangutanlanguage.com/cv.html.
Born in Paris and originally trained as a general practitioner in medicine, she studied the behavior and language of Great Apes
at Indonesia's Surabaya
Zoological Park from 1965 to 1977. At that time she also volunteered as a park veterinarian, founded and operated a free medical clinic and hospital for 10 years, and pioneered a number of relief projects for Indonesian people. In 1977 she lived for six months inside a cage at the Singapore Zoo
with eighteen orangutans to study their behavior
and communication.
Between 1978 and 1989 she lectured in primatology at UCLA, and in 1980 she organized the rehabilitation of chimpanzee
s from cages in laboratories to the Lion Country Safari
in Florida. Between 1990 and 1995 she rehabilitated local wildlife in the jungle of Costa Rica, and from 1996 to 1997 she organized a site for the rehabilitation of endangered wildlife
while living in a private zoo in Riau Province in Sumatra
. In 2004 she began work toward establishing a 2000 acres (8.1 km²) sanctuary in Malaysia, and in 2006 she co-authored a book on humans raising an orphaned orangutan http://www.uturatpublishing.com/orangutan-loving-home.htm. In 2007 she began establishing the Bali Endangered Animal Rescue (BEAR) habitat and international research center in central Bali
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20071018.R01.
Dr. Neago speaks and writes in French
, English
, Malay
, Spanish
, Italian
, Serbo-Croatian
and signs in Ameslan sign language.
Primatology
Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse discipline and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medicine, psychology, veterinary sciences and zoology, as well as in animal sanctuaries, biomedical research facilities, museums and zoos...
and conservationist
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
specializing in orangutan
Orangutan
Orangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s. In addition to her internationally televised films about orangutans she has lectured worldwide and published several scientific papers in the Journal of Primatology
Primatology
Primatology is the scientific study of primates. It is a diverse discipline and researchers can be found in academic departments of anatomy, anthropology, biology, medicine, psychology, veterinary sciences and zoology, as well as in animal sanctuaries, biomedical research facilities, museums and zoos...
(New York).
At UCLA she developed a computer system in conjunction with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
later used by the Smithsonian National Zoo
Conservation and Research Center
The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution located on a campus located just outside the historic town of Front Royal, Virginia...
to teach language to orangutans http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ThinkTank/ResearchProjects/OLP/default.cfm, and organized and directed the world's first orangutan language study. With the aid of a computer, she taught an ape
Ape
Apes are Old World anthropoid mammals, more specifically a clade of tailless catarrhine primates, belonging to the biological superfamily Hominoidea. The apes are native to Africa and South-east Asia, although in relatively recent times humans have spread all over the world...
named Bulan English language arts, sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
and a method she devised for spelling in a phonetic alphabet
Phonetic alphabet
Phonetic alphabet can mean:* phonetic transcription system: a system for transcribing the precise sounds of human speech into writing.** International Phonetic Alphabet : the most widespread such system...
. Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
first listed her language program in 1988 http://web.archive.org/web/20050910222701/www.orangutanlanguage.com/cv.html.
Born in Paris and originally trained as a general practitioner in medicine, she studied the behavior and language of Great Apes
Hominidae
The Hominidae or include them .), as the term is used here, form a taxonomic family, including four extant genera: chimpanzees , gorillas , humans , and orangutans ....
at Indonesia's Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
Zoological Park from 1965 to 1977. At that time she also volunteered as a park veterinarian, founded and operated a free medical clinic and hospital for 10 years, and pioneered a number of relief projects for Indonesian people. In 1977 she lived for six months inside a cage at the Singapore Zoo
Singapore Zoo
The Singapore Zoo , formerly known as the Singapore Zoological Gardens and commonly known locally as the Mandai Zoo, occupies 28 hectares of land on the margins of Upper Seletar Reservoir within Singapore's heavily forested central catchment area. The zoo was built at a cost of S$9m granted by...
with eighteen orangutans to study their behavior
Ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, and a sub-topic of zoology....
and communication.
Between 1978 and 1989 she lectured in primatology at UCLA, and in 1980 she organized the rehabilitation of chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s from cages in laboratories to the Lion Country Safari
Lion Country Safari
Lion Country Safari is a drive-through safari park located in Loxahatchee , in Palm Beach County, Florida. Founded in 1967, it claims to be the first 'cageless zoo' in the United States....
in Florida. Between 1990 and 1995 she rehabilitated local wildlife in the jungle of Costa Rica, and from 1996 to 1997 she organized a site for the rehabilitation of endangered wildlife
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
while living in a private zoo in Riau Province in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
. In 2004 she began work toward establishing a 2000 acres (8.1 km²) sanctuary in Malaysia, and in 2006 she co-authored a book on humans raising an orphaned orangutan http://www.uturatpublishing.com/orangutan-loving-home.htm. In 2007 she began establishing the Bali Endangered Animal Rescue (BEAR) habitat and international research center in central Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20071018.R01.
Dr. Neago speaks and writes in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...
and signs in Ameslan sign language.
External links
- Orang utan Language Project (OLP) Smithsonian National Zoological Park
- Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Neago
- Orphaned orangutan raised by humans Book by Dr. Neago, 2006
- International Directory of Primatology Neago, Francis
- Bali Endangered Animal Rescue (BEAR) habitat
- Interview with Dr. Neago: On conversations with Koko the GorillaKoko (gorilla)Koko is a female western lowland gorilla who, according to Francine "Penny" Patterson, is able to understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English....
and getting run out of IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
following a military coup