Koko the ‘talking’ gorilla dead at 46
Koko, a gorilla said to have mastered American Sign Language, has died aged 46, the California institute which studied her said yesterday.
“The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko,” the research center said in a statement, adding she passed away in her sleep.
Koko was among a handful of primates who could communicate using sign language; others included Washoe, a female chimpanzee in Washington state, and Chantek, a male orangutan in Atlanta. While some scientists questioned the sign language claim, the “talking” lowland gorilla nevertheless became an ambassador for her species, which is threatened by logging and poaching in their native habitats in central Africa.
The Gorilla Foundation said Koko touched the lives of millions as an icon for interspecies communication and empathy.
“She was beloved and will be deeply missed,” it said.
Koko was born on July 4, 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo. Dr Francine Patterson began working with Koko the following year and taught her sign language, the foundation said.
The gorilla was featured in many documentaries and appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine twice, once in a photograph Koko had taken of herself in a mirror.
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