“Speech is what distinguishes man from the apes – or so many scientists believe. Keith Laidler, a young anthropologist, was sceptical. It seemed to him that this was one more way in which man conceitedly over-estimated himself. In defiance of such prejudice, Laidler set about teaching a baby orangutan to talk.
For a year and a half Cody was raised in ‘human’ conditions. He wore nappies, slept in a cot with a teddy bear and played games. As Laidler had hoped, Cody’s physical and intellectual development kept pace with – sometimes outstripped – that of a human baby.
But how was his teacher to make Cody understand that he wanted him to ‘talk’? Slowly, patiently, Laidler devised ways of getting the young ape to imitate his own movements and sounds. And to his delight, once Cody grasped what was expected of him, his progress was astonishing.
Keith Laidler has written a fascinating, funny and moving account of his life with Cody. His ‘experiment’ provided the scientific establishment with controversial new material. But perhaps a more significant outcome was the bond of affection that developed between the man and the young ape as they worked and played together: a bond which all animal-lovers will understand, and which defies all those who doubt the sensitivity of ‘dumb animals’.
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