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Koko (gorilla)

See Koko for other uses of the word "Koko" than the gorilla.

Koko (born July 4, 1971, in San Francisco, California) is the name of a captive, acculturated gorilla trained by Dr. Francine 'Penny' Patterson and other scientists at Stanford University to allegedly communicate with more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English. She has lived most of her life in Woodside, California, but plans for a move to a sanctuary at Maui, Hawaii are nearing attainment. She was also the inspiration for Amy the "talking" ape in the Michael Crichton novel Congo.

Koko is short for the name Hanabi-Ko, meaning "fireworks child" in Japanese (a reference to her date of birth, July 4).


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Use of language

Some scientists assert Koko's use of signs, and her actions consistent with her use of signs, indicate she has mastered the use of language. Others contend 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 (i.e. that her actions are the product of operant conditioning). Another concern that has been raised about Koko's ability to express coherent thoughts through the use of signs is that interpretation of the gorilla's conversation is left to the handler, who may see improbable concatenations of signs as meaningful. However, Dr. Patterson has documented Koko inventing new signs to communicate novel thoughts. For example, she claims that nobody taught Koko the word for "ring", therefore to refer to it she combined the words "finger" and "bracelet", hence "finger bracelet".

Such debate requires careful consideration of what it means to 'learn' or 'use' a language (see Animal language for further discussion). This debate has been ongoing since the first ape sign language experiments with the chimpanzee Washoe in the 1960s. Other well-known signing apes include chimpanzee Nim Chimpsky and the Orangutan Chantek. Gorillas and bonobos (a species of chimpanzee) are relatively adept with certain forms of communication, whereas common chimpanzees and orangutans tend toward mastery of manual skills, including brachiation.

Koko's training began at the age of one. Dr. Patterson has assessed Koko's vocabulary at over 1,000 signs, which would place her among the most proficient non-human users of language [1].

Michael

Michael, a gorilla who lived with Koko for several years, also developed a broad vocabulary of signs, but did not become as proficient before his death in 2000. Michael's handlers believe that he witnessed and remembered his mother's death at the hands of poachers, but was unable to clearly express the event. In the movie Koko: Conversation with a Gorilla a group of Michael's signs is interpreted to be an attempt by the gorilla to convey a description of his mother being shot as he watched.

Michael had been selected by Koko from a group of videotapes shown to her by her 'human friend', Penny, who played several tapes showing 'available' male apes of her species, in what may be described as an attempt at "video-dating". It was intended that the two might mate, as Koko had expressed the desire to have a baby. The two became close, but never mated, perhaps because their relationship was similar to gorilla family groupings in the wild -- Michael 'became her adopted brother', rather than her mate.

Koko's cats

Although not unique, Koko is one of the few non-humans known to keep pets of a different species. She has cared for several cats over the years (see All Ball), and Koko's relationship with All Ball was featured in the 1987 book, Koko's Kitten (Scholastic Press, ISBN 0-590-44425-5), which was penned by Dr. Patterson.

Other gorillas known to have cared for pets include Toto.

Koko in the Media

Many documentaries have been made on Koko, including Koko: A Talking Gorilla (1977). On April 27 1998, Koko held an "online chat" live on AOL. In the following extracts, LiveKOKO is Koko, DrPPatrsn is Dr. Patterson. Here [2] is a link to the chat transcript on koko.org.

In August 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. [3]

Sexual Harassment

Koko has been "involved" in several sexual harassment lawsuits.[4] At least three former employees, all female, have claimed that they were pressured into showing their breasts to Koko. They alleged that Dr. Patterson encouraged the behavior, often interpreted Koko's signs as requests for nipple display, and let them know that their job would be in danger if they "did not indulge Koko's nipple fetish". Koko has been known to playfully grab both male and female nipples without warning or provocation. Dr. Patterson claims that Koko uses the word "nipple" to refer to humans.[5]

All claims of harassment have been permanently dropped as of 21 November 2005 after the foundation and the parties involved reached the settlement. [6]

See also

References

Online video

Categories


Animal intelligence | Famous apes

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