KOKO THE GORILLA SIGNS OFF AT 46
KOKO the gorilla, whose remarkable sign-language ability and motherly attachment to pet cats helped change the world’s views about the intelligence of animals, has died in the US at 46.
Koko was taught sign language from an early age as a scientific test subject and eventually learnt more than 1000 words, a vocabulary similar to that of a human toddler.
She became a celebrity and played along with the likes of William Shatner, Sting, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robin Williams and popular American TV personality Fred Rogers, a puppeteer known as Mr Rogers. The Gorilla Foundation said the 127kg western lowland gorilla died in her sleep at the foundation’s preserve in California’s Santa Cruz mountains on Tuesday.
The gorilla’s 1978 National Geographic cover featured a photo that the animal had taken of herself in a mirror.
“Koko the individual was super smart, like all the apes, and also sensitive, something not everyone expected from a ‘King Kong’ type animal that movies depict as dangerous and formidable,” Emory University primate researcher Frans de Waal said in an email. MELANIA Trump went to Texas to show she cared about migrant children.
Her fashion choice carried a baffling counter-message.
The first lady wore a green, hooded military jacket (pictured) from the fast-fashion brand Zara that read “I really don’t care, do u?” both as she departed and returned to Washington. The words were printed in white, in graffitistyle, on the jacket’s back.
When asked what message the first lady intended to send, spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said: “It’s a jacket.
“There was no hidden message. After today’s important visit to Texas, I hope the media isn’t going to choose to focus on her wardrobe.” Ms Grisham underscored that message in a tweet with the hashtags #SheCares and #ItsJustAJacket.
But President Donald Trump offered his own interpretation, tweeting that it “refers to the Fake News Media. Melania has learned how dishonest they are, and she truly no longer cares!”
Mrs Trump changed into a pale yellow jacket before the plane landed in McAllen, Texas, for a visit to the Upbring New Hope Children’s Centre, which houses 55 migrant children. But even after questions arose about her attire, Mrs Trump was back in the green jacket when she returned to Washington in 27C weather. She has shown that she won’t bow to public pressure or expectations about how she should comport herself as first lady. Like it or not, Mrs Trump’s jacket, which reportedly retailed at $39, had her trending on Twitter.
One outraged user borrowed an image of the back of the jacket to promote groups working on behalf of immigrant children.
Zara, a Spain-based company with a large presence in the US and around the world, had no comment.
The jacket belongs to Zara’s spring-summer 2016 season and is no longer for sale by the company, though a few of the jackets popped up online for resale at a moderate profit for sellers. The jacket sharply contrasts with the first lady’s typically bold, foreign-flavoured and higher-priced wardrobe.