1/6/2024 0 Comments Koko the gorilla![]() Researcher Francine Patterson began working with Koko in 1972, teaching her sign language. Watch Koko the Gorilla Use Sign Language in This 1981 Film Pushing the Boundariesīorn July 4, 1971, Koko was born Hanabi-ko, Japanese for "fireworks child,” at the San Francisco Zoo. “Even as we celebrate her life, we must remember that Koko was made to live in confinement in a highly unnatural way from her infancy through her death.” “Equally importantly, though, she raised our awareness of the costs to animal individuals of our scientific curiosity about other sentient lives,” says King, author of How Animals Grieve. “Because she was smart enough to comprehend and use aspects of our language, Koko could show us what all great apes are capable of: reasoning about their world, and loving and grieving the other beings to whom they become attached,” Barbara King, a professor emerita of anthropology at the College of William and Mary, says by email. Koko became the most visible member of her species, the western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla), which is considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. She also appeared a second time on the cover in January 1985, in a story about Koko and her pet kitten. National Geographic magazine featured Koko of its cover twice: First in October 1978, with a photograph that she took of herself in a mirror (perhaps making it one of the earliest prominent animal selfies). She became an international celebrity during the course of her life, with a vocabulary of more than 1,000 signs and the ability to understand 2,000 words of spoken English, according to The Gorilla Foundation. "Robin's ability to just 'hang out' with Koko, a gorilla, and in minutes, become one of her closest friends, was extraordinary and unforgettable," the handlers wrote in a note on the website.Koko, the western lowland gorilla that died in her sleep Tuesday at age 46, was renowned for her emotional depth and ability to communicate in sign language. Koko’s handlers posted to the Gorilla Foundation site that “She became extremely sad.” On Monday, Koko reportedly overheard Patterson discussing the sudden and unexpected death of Williams over the phone. “Koko, like us, can sense a person's nature, and in this case, she was quickly drawn to Robin's warm heart." “Koko instantly connected with Robin,” Koko’s longtime caregiver, Dr. We shared interspecies laughter," Williams said in 2004. Koko used sign language to ask me to play with her. ![]() At the time, Koko’s handlers said it was the first time she had smiled in six months, since a gorilla who was her childhood companion had passed away.Ī few years later, in 2004, Williams produced a public service announcement with Koko to raise awareness about the plight of gorillas in the wild. The gorilla even repeatedly smiled at Williams before pulling him in for a loving embrace. Near the end of their first play date, the gorilla signed, “Koko love,” at the late actor and comedian. Koko even returned the favor, reaching under Williams’ T-shirt to tickle and pinch him. When they met, the gorilla, who was then 30 years old, took an instant liking to Williams, asking him repeatedly to tickle her. ![]() “We shared something extraordinary: laughter,” Williams says at the beginning of the video, when describing his experience of meeting Koko. Williams was brought in to meet Koko at the Gorilla Foundation in northern California. Koko is fluent in American Sign Language, can communicate in over 1,000 signs and can reportedly understand several English-language commands. So, when the two first met in 2001, it made sense that they would naturally get along. And Koko the gorilla is one of the most famous animals on the planet. Robin Williams was one of the most famous people on the planet.
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