The Story Of Koko, The Smartest Gorilla In The World
Not everyone knows the story of Koko, the smartest gorilla in the world. This beautiful animal was born in a zoo in San Francisco in 1971. Psychologist Francine “Penny” Patterson decided to adopt it for a study carried out at Stanford University in the United States.
The initial goal was to do a linguistic experiment. The psychologist would try to teach him American Sign Language for the deaf and dumb. If he accomplished that feat, he could communicate with her and learn firsthand how a primate thought.
After 43 years of working with Koko, all one can conclude is that she hasn’t stopped surprising those in the know. Your progress has been impressive. She has not only learned sign language perfectly, but has also been giving loving messages to the world and has shown that inside her there is much more than a few learning skills.
Koko’s training
This story has been controversial from the start. At first, everyone doubted that she would be able to learn sign language. It was believed that she would be able to repeat her trainer’s gestures, but without understanding their meaning.
Dr. Patterson believed she could do it and patiently instructed her. The first sign that Koko understood what she was saying was the fact that she created new words. An example of this is the word ring. The instructor had taught him the word “bracelet” and the word “finger” but not the word “ring”. But one day, Koko combined the bracelet and finger sign, to refer to a ring her instructor was wearing.
Currently Dr. Patterson says that Koko manages a language of 1,000 signs in total and understands 2,000 English words. In addition, there are videos in which the gorilla appears emitting onomatopoeias, that is, sounds deliberately produced to communicate something. Some believe she could say a few words.
The beautiful story of Koko and Bolita
Dr. Patterson used to read stories to Koko. The gorilla’s favorites were “The Cat in Boots” and a story about three kittens. Almost every day she asked her instructor to read the same stories. One day, out of the blue, Koko said he wanted to have a cat.
Coincidentally, they abandoned three cats near the farm where Koko lived. One of them was a female who had no tail and Koko adopted her. In sign language, she nicknamed her “Bolita”. Since then, she became an inseparable friend to Koko: she took care of the kitten with affection, they played together and was always aware of what she was doing.
After 15 years of friendship, Bolita was hit by a car and died. Patterson told the gorilla that she would no longer see her friend. Koko said he felt sad. There is a video where she seems to cry when she is alone. This could compromise what was thought about animals like Koko: she was aware of what death is.
Researcher Maureen Sheehan questioned Koko about this. In sign language, she replied that gorillas die from “problems” or “old age.” He also said that after death they go to “a comfortable place”. And when asked if gorillas are happy or sad after death, Koko replied that neither. They just sleep.
The Koko Gorilla’s Inner World
One fact that attracted a lot of attention and is documented on video was Koko’s relationship with actor and director Robin Williams. After Bolita’s death, Koko was sad for a long time. She smiled again when Williams visited her and made some jokes. The actor was very happy about it. When told about his death, Koko expressed deep sadness.
Another incredible episode occurred when an expert explained to Koko what climate change is. She was amazed and very interested in the subject. It then sent a message to humans through sign language. She asks us to take care of the planet so we’re not stupid. And he warns: “Nature watches”. This fact is also recorded on video.
The Koko experiment shows not only that your species is endowed with great intelligence, it also has a very rich emotional world. They are capable of making rational and moral judgments. This case confirms what many realized long ago: animals and humans are a brotherhood, where there are more similarities than differences.
