Koko
Gorilla
Koko is a domesticated lowland gorilla who has been taught to use human sign language. Beginning when Koko was one year old, psychologist Francine "Penny" Patterson taught the gorilla signs from American sign language; Patterson eventually credited Koko with learning a vocabulary of over 1000 signs. Koko is one of the best-known signing apes, along with chimpanzees Nim Chimpsky and Washoe.Extra credit: Koko had a famous pet kitten which she named All Ball... According to Zoo.org, the average lifespan of a lowland gorilla is 30-35 years in the wild, 35-45 years in a zoo.
Koko appears with Roddy McDowall in our loop Great Apes!
Four Good Links
The Gorilla Foundation
Koko's official home page, with plenty of information on gorilla issues
Nature: A Conversation With Koko
Online site for the PBS program, rich in details
The Straight Dope on Gorilla Sign Language
Cecil Adams explains what the experts think
How Did All Ball Die?
Yahoo's answer page tackles the sad demise of Koko's kitten
Vital Stats
Birth
Birthplace
Death
--
Best Known As
The gorilla who "talks" with humans
