Koko The Gorilla Dead At 46. Fascinated And Elated Millions With Her Facility For Language

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NPR:

Koko The Gorilla Dies; Redrew The Lines Of Animal-Human Communication

"The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko," the famous research center says, informing the world about the death of a gorilla who fascinated and elated millions of people with her facility for language.

Koko, who was 46, died in her sleep Tuesday morning, the Gorilla Foundation said. At birth, she was named Hanabi-ko — Japanese for "fireworks child," because she was born at the San Francisco Zoo on the Fourth of July in 1971. She was a western lowland gorilla.

"Her impact has been profound and what she has taught us about the emotional capacity of gorillas and their cognitive abilities will continue to shape the world," the Gorilla Foundation said.

Much more, with videos, at the link.

Requiescat in pace, wonderful being.
 
NPR:

Koko The Gorilla Dies; Redrew The Lines Of Animal-Human Communication

"The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko," the famous research center says, informing the world about the death of a gorilla who fascinated and elated millions of people with her facility for language.

Koko, who was 46, died in her sleep Tuesday morning, the Gorilla Foundation said. At birth, she was named Hanabi-ko — Japanese for "fireworks child," because she was born at the San Francisco Zoo on the Fourth of July in 1971. She was a western lowland gorilla.

"Her impact has been profound and what she has taught us about the emotional capacity of gorillas and their cognitive abilities will continue to shape the world," the Gorilla Foundation said.

Much more, with videos, at the link.

Requiescat in pace, wonderful being.

Such a sad passing. She was a beautiful being. Vale Koko x
 
Why Koko the Gorilla Mattered

“Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and an icon for interspecies communication and empathy,” the foundation said in a statement. (Read more about ape intelligence.)

Research and work with Koko, and other gorillas, has revealed that great apes have language skills similar to small children. Anne Russon, a researcher at York University, said that teaching Koko and other animals sign language, as opposed to solely attempting verbal communication, was a “great leap forward.”

RIP
 
I really feel badly for the female researcher who raised Koko and
did all the work teaching her to communicate. Then after many
years of taking care of and teaching Koko had her taken from her
and put back into a solitary cage to live out her life as a wild animal.
If you ever get a chance to watch the documentary made about
Koko's early life w/ this researcher, by all means watch it.
It will tear your heart out.
RIP Dear Koko and condolences to your old friend and teacher.
 

(CNN)Koko, the gorilla who mastered sign language and showed the world what great apes can do, has died.

She died Tuesday in her sleep at age 46, The Gorilla Foundation said in a statement.
"Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and an icon for interspecies communication and empathy," the release said. "She was beloved and will be deeply missed." …
 
Very sad. She was so living. Those videos of her with the kitten. Oh, my. Who could not love koko. A gentle heart in a strong body.
 
https://nypost.com/2018/06/21/how-koko-forever-changed-the-way-we-think-about-gorillas/

How Koko forever changed the way we think about gorillas

Koko was 13 years old when she learned her beloved kitten, All Ball, died after being hit by a car.

Visibly upset, the western lowland gorilla kept signing the words “sad, frown, cry, bad” and cried out with a hooting sound she made as a baby while left alone in her cage at night.

“Those are the only times she gives that cry,” her longtime caregiver, Francine “Penny” Patterson, said in 1985. “It’s like, ‘Someone’s leaving me.’”
 
https://pagesix.com/2018/06/22/betty-white-shares-touching-tribute-to-koko-the-gorilla/

Betty White shares touching tribute to Koko the gorilla

As the world mourns the death of Koko the gorilla, who mastered American sign language and personally made many friends in show business, one of those friends, Betty White, is mourning the loss.

The “Golden Girls” star, 96, posted a note to her Twitter account showing a photo of her with the gorilla and a heartfelt parting message.

“I treasure every minute we spent together #koko,” she wrote.
 

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