What we learned from Koko the gorilla
Dr. Penny Patterson began teaching Koko sign language in 1972.
These are troubling times. Trade wars, children housed within caged enclosures and refugees refused entry dominate today’s headlines.
Bombarded by bad news, many of us may have missed the story of Koko, a most remarkable primate. The celebrated western lowland gorilla died peacefully in her sleep last week. She was 46 years old — elderly for a species that lives up to 30 to 40 years in the wild.
Koko’s accomplishments during her high-profile life were impressive — she learned to sign as many as 1,000 words and could understand another 1,000 or so. But for those of us mourning her loss, Koko’s passing has greater import than her ability to communicate with another species. Koko showed, time and again, that humans are not the only animal to experience a range of emotions that include love, sorrow, a need for belonging, and an almost primal need for familial bonds.
How touched we were to discover Koko’s maternal affection for her pet kittens, in particular the first one she received as a birthday gift. Named All-Ball, Koko cuddled and played with the little animal, carrying All-Ball around like a baby. She even tried to nurse the kitten. When All-Ball died, Koko openly mourned. “Cat, cry, have-sorry, Kokolove, unattention, visit me,” she signed.
Koko’s behaviour echoed Dr. Jane Goodall’s findings decades earlier in the forests of Tanzania where the famous primatologist witnessed similar responses during the course of her research on wild chimpanzees.
Like Koko, chimpanzees understand and grieve the death of one of their kind. When Flo, one of the chimpanzees Goodall studied closely, passed away in 1972, her son, eight-year-old Flint, was unable to cope. The small chimp climbed into a tree and refused to eat or interact with others showing all the signs of clinical depression. He died within a month of losing his mother — demonstrating the potentially devastating toll of early separation between parent and child.
Family ties are strong in chimpanzee communities — or troop as they are known. Goodall recounts the story of a female chimp named Sprout. When her adult son, Satan, 23 years old at the time, threatened a young male in an effort to reach the fruit on nearby tree, the young male backed off screaming. His screams caught his older brother’s attention and together they attacked Satan. Who should come scrambling down from the tree top but Satan’s wizened old mother Sprout, teeth worn down to the gums. Despite being half the size of the males, Sprout hit out at the brothers and chased them off her beloved son.
One of Goodall’s favourite stories about Koko, whom she met, is one that demonstrates apes have a sense of humour. Koko knew and could sign different colours. While waiting for dinner one day, a researcher picked up various items and Koko accurately signed their colour. When a white cloth was chosen, Koko signed “red.” Shown the cloth again, Koko repeatedly signed “red.” Finally, Koko was told that if she did not give the correct colour there would be no apple juice at dinner. Koko took the cloth, picked off a tiny piece of red fluff and signed, “red, red, red” while uttering grunts of gorilla laughter.
Koko’s dexterity with language, her ability to move beyond nouns and string together sentences, amazed the world. That Koko opened a window for us into the interior landscape of another species was more extraordinary still.
Populations of great apes are in steep decline. Both gorillas and chimpanzees are becoming increasingly rare and are classified as endangered. The ability of these magnificent animals to communicate and to share with humans a similar emotional range bridges a divide that suggests, perhaps, that the differences between us and other species are not as great as once thought.
So let’s pause to pay respect to Koko's playful nature, her love for her pet kittens and her true bonds with people. In contrast to the onslaught of increasingly disturbing world events, what a welcome change to see this great ape who understood perfectly the need for family, friendship and love.