Koko (gorilla)

This article is about the gorilla. For other uses of the name Koko, see Koko.

Koko (born July 4, 1971) is the name of a captive, acculturated gorilla trained by Dr. Francine 'Penny' Patterson and other scientists at Stanford University to communicate certain signs based on American Sign Language. Some scientists claim Koko's actions indicate a capability to learn language. Other scientists claim that her actions are simply the result of operant conditioning, in that she does not understand the meaning behind what she is doing, but learns to complete the signs simply because the researchers reward her for doing so. Such debate requires careful consideration of what it means to "learn" or "use" a language; see Animal language for further discussion. Koko is also the only known non-human animal known to keep a pet of a different species; she has cared for several cats over the years.

Born in San Francisco, California, Koko's training began at the age of one. Patterson eventually assessed Koko's vocabulary at over 1,000 signs. Many documentaries have been made on Koko, including 1977's Koko - A Talking Gorilla. On April 27th, 1998, Koko held an "chat" live on AOL. She has lived most of her life in Woodside, California.

In August of 2004, Koko was in the news again due to a toothache. She communicated that she was in pain, and according to her handlers was able to indicate her pain level on a scale of 1 to 10. [1]

Other well-known signing apes include chimpanzees Nim Chimpsky and Washoe, and the Orangutan Chantek.

See also: Kanzi, Panzee and Panbanisha, All Ball.

External links

• Koko.org
• An Internet Chat with Koko the Gorilla (transcript of AOL chat)
• A Conversation With Koko (from the PBS)
• Koko's Nipple Fetish
• ApeNet.org
• Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International
• When Koko the gorilla needs a checkup, Stanford docs swing into action