Koko, as you may already know, is one of the world's most beloved and famous gorillas. According to Francine "Penny" Patterson, her long-term trainer, Koko able to understand more than 1,000 signs and approximately 2,000 English words.
For some time, Koko had been telling her trainers via sign language and play behavior that she wanted to raise a baby gorilla and have a larger family. Helping Koko adopt a baby and some female companions to complete a family group with her male companion, Ndume, thus became one of the Gorilla Foundation's primary initiatives.
As you'll seen in the wonderful video below, there are many indications that Koko would teach her baby to sign, creating exciting possibilities for new avenues of interspecies communication research, and enabling breakthroughs in captive gorilla care management and conservation. Koko would then be able to transmit both her culture and her ambassadorial responsibilities to the next generation.
Koko is one of the few non-humans known to keep a pet. On her birthday in July of 1984, she was able to choose a kitten from a litter. Koko selected a gray male Manx from a litter of abandoned kittens and named him "All Ball". Penny said that Koko cared for the kitten as if it were her very own baby gorilla.
Watch Koko interact with a baby doll in the incredible video below and marvel at this brilliant, beautiful creature. I'm astonished by her powerful maternal instincts.
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