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The Kitchen Table

Koko has died.....

8 years ago

..in her sleep, she was the gorilla who knew sign language. Just read it on a travel forum I frequent.

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Iris S (SC, Zone 7b)

8 years ago

I heard it, too. She was really exceptional. Having conflicting emotions. I don’t like the concept of the being in captivity and being taught the sign language. But if it helps to show how intelligent these animals are and that they are worth being saved? For me it’s enough to see how they are in their environment, but it seems a lot of people need animals shown humanized to connect. I am probably not wording this right.

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Comments (10)

salonva
8 years ago
I saw that too. So sad. I remember being so touched by her. I was also very torn because while I loved reading about and seeing some short films with her, it just felt so wrong and I thought it wasn't fair to her.... kind of like swimming with dolphins. I think it's got to be an incredible experience, but it's just wrong for wild animals. in my opinion.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
She was born and raised in captivity so no viable chance of her being a "wild" animal. She was more of a pet really, as her caregiver and ASL teacher was with her constantly from early on, after she almost died from a life threatening illness.
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marilyn_c
8 years ago
Very sorry to read this.
PKponder TX Z7B
8 years ago
Me too, sorry to hear that she has passed.
yeonassky
8 years ago
Sorry as well. :-(
Elmer J Fudd
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Not so much recently but Koko was a somewhat recurring story in the Bay Area press I saw since she and the organization/people who cared for her were in my general area. I know the whole situation and the many stories were interesting ones that touched many people profoundly.

I never really got a good sense for whether the training she responded to was viewed as providing new insights concerning gorillas and apes in general or if instead viewed as being exceptional and more reflective of the unusual circumstances of her life and upbringing.
lily316
8 years ago
I loved her. What a sweet caring gorilla she was. She taught us a lot about the species and how intelligent they are.
pudgeder
8 years ago
I agree Lily. She was a beautiful creature.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
It is my understanding that Koko was only one of several great apes that were part of various scientific studies undertaken to evaluate language acquisition skills. Apparently great apes - gorillas and chimps/bonobos in particular - share 99% of our DNA and so this research was done to evaluate how well they could adapt to human forms of communication. Washoe, a chimpanzee, was the first to learn ASL but did not develop the extensive vocabulary of Koko.

There have also been similar studies conducted with orangutans, but they are not nearly as closely related to humans as bonobos, chimps or gorillas and their 'language skills' are not nearly as pronounced.

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