Life begins at 40 for humans but for Koko the Gorilla, her life just got better at 44. In celebration for her 44 years of communicating via sign language and allowing humans to learn more about inter-species communication, Dr. Francine "Penny" Patterson, Koko's trainer and friend, presented her with a litter of kittens. What's even better is that she got to keep the two kittens she had affection for: Ms. Gray and Ms. Black.
It's not a wonder why Koko picked up Ms. Gray from the box first. Koko has never had a baby of her own but, it turns out, she's quite a cat lady.
Her first pet kitten back in 1984 was male and also had gray fur; unfortunately, he died when he got hit by a car, causing Koko to feel depressed. Their relationship can be read in the award-winning classic children's book "Koko's Kitten."
For those who are not familiar with Koko the Gorilla and why she is an important part of Science, we'll give you a clue.
Koko was born in 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo where she was nursed and treated after she contracted an illness at six months old. Dr. Penny Patterson, who was then still a graduate student finishing her research in Psychology at Stanford University. Dr. Patterson then requested permission from the zoo to work with Koko and obtained consent with the promise that her work with the gorilla will be at least a four-year commitment. From then on, Koko and Dr. Patterson have always worked together.
Koko is famous for using sign language as she's able to express herself using over 1,000 signs and can understand about 2,000 spoken English words. She grew up and worked with two other male gorillas, Michael and Ndume, unfortunately, Michael passed away in the year 2000.
Both Koko and Dr. Patterson work with The Gorilla Foundation and, together, they have produced educational videos and books about interspecies communication.
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