Koko the gorilla—known for learning to use sign language—has died at age 46.
Koko’s real name was Hanabi-Ko, Japanese for “fireworks child.” She was born July 4, 1971, at the San Francisco Zoo. She was taught sign language from an early age as a scientific test subject. Eventually, Koko learned more than 1,000 words. That gave her a vocabulary similar to that of a human toddler. She became a television celebrity playing with actors and TV personalities such as Mr. Rogers. The American public began to soften up toward the big apes as a result. No more did they think of gorillas as King Kong. They saw Koko hugging, tickling, and signing responses in what looked like conversation.
The 280-pound western lowland gorilla appeared in many documentaries, including a 2015 PBS program. She was featured twice in National Geographic. The 1978 National Geographic cover was a photo that Koko had taken of herself in the mirror.
She was not the first animal to learn some sign language. But through books and media, she became the most famous. Many—including her handler—believed Koko’s use of language showed that she had emotions and empathy very much like humans. But there remains serious debate in the scientific community about whether that is accurate. Some animal scientists think Koko learned to mimic how humans use language. They say she responded accordingly without experiencing the same emotions herself.
Francine “Penny” Patterson began working with Koko when Patterson was in her 20s and Koko was only about a year old. Patterson at first thought she would spend four years with the gorilla, experimenting with language. But a bond formed, and Patterson asked to take full responsibility for Koko. For more than 40 years, the pair plus Patterson’s husband lived and worked together. Penny felt more than a clinical connection to Koko, in some ways, thinking of the gorilla as her child, something neither she nor Koko ever experienced.
For the gorilla’s birthday in 1996, Penny asked Koko what she wanted. Koko signed that she wanted to be a mother. Though a male gorilla friend was brought to live with Koko, a baby gorilla never arrived. Koko was given a gray, tailless kitten to care for. She named the kitten “All Ball.” Images of her cuddling and playing with All Ball furthered the idea for onlookers that the gorilla had human-like emotions rather than simply God-given instincts.
(AP Photo via The Gorilla Foundation: A diagram shows some of the 1,000 signs Koko is said to have learned to use.)
