Koko, The Talking Gorilla
Recently, sad news has surfaced: on June 20, 2018, the Koko gorilla, probably one of the most famous gorillas, died along with the Snowflake gorilla. This female western plains gorilla died at 46 years old, in the same place where she spent her last years: The Gorilla Foundation’s.
The Koko gorilla’s death occurred while she was sleeping, reassuring the foundation, which will likely end its activity now that the use of primates to study language has been discarded for ethical reasons.
The Koko Gorilla: A Prodigious Mind
Gorilla Koko became famous for his mastery of sign language. His caregiver and trainer, Franscine Patterson, was able to teach him over a thousand signs. Koko could either understand them or use them. In addition, she understood at least 2,000 words of spoken English.
Although the Koko gorilla’s skills were sometimes exaggerated: in general, the scientific community agrees that Koko did not construct sentences using syntax, and his ability to communicate was similar to that of a four-year-old.
The gorilla Koko: how did your story come about?
Koko was born at the San Francisco Zoo. During her first months of life she became very ill, so a caregiver took care of her. Franscine Patterson ended up developing a huge emotional bond with Koko.
Subsequently, Franscine was able to take Koko to a foundation, where she remained for the rest of her life. Some criticized this decision, but even being in a zoo, Koko had many other gorillas to interact with, rather than just one person.
The gorilla Koko, a life full of adventures
Koko was passionate about animals and, on many occasions, took care of cats and expressed her love for them. It’s just that Koko could use sign language to express her feelings.
This female gorilla met many people, such as Leonardo Di Caprio and Robin Williams, a relationship that became famous after Koko’s reaction to her death.
Koko: a controversial life
Although Koko has inspired many people, there are many who believe that the conditions in which she was raised constitute a clear abuse of animals.
Non-human primates are easily humanized if raised with humans, and in the future it may be impossible for these animals to reintegrate into a group of primates of their species. That’s why you can’t have a monkey as a pet.
Although he has lived with gorillas at various stages of his life, Koko did not live in natural groups and often only lived with the company of people.
Many criticized the primate language experiments, as other cases ended in abandonment and animal experimentation, and it was easy to see that most of these monkeys suffered psychologically.
What is certain is that the Koko gorilla has had a very different life from her peers, and this has inspired many people to respect nature, but it probably hasn’t had the best life possible for her.
