Koko, the Gorilla Who Knew Sign Language, Dies

 

Koko, the gorilla¹ who became famous for learning sign language, has died in the United States.

The California-based Gorilla Foundation that kept and studied Koko announced that she had passed away in her sleep on Tuesday. She was 46 years old.

“Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas² and an icon³ for interspecies communication and empathy,” the foundation said in a statement. “She was beloved and will be deeply missed.”

Koko was a western lowland gorilla born on July 4, 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo. The very next year, Koko began working with Dr. Francine Patterson, who taught her American Sign Language. Her keepers said Koko also understood some spoken English.

The teaching experiment became part of a larger project at California’s Stanford University in 1974. The Stanford project later expanded to include another western lowland gorilla, named Michael, who also learned sign language.

Five years later, the Gorilla Foundation was created in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 40 kilometers south of San Francisco. The two gorillas were moved there. Michael died in 2000.

Another gorilla named Ndume lived with Koko at the foundation. Researchers say he does not have the same sign language abilities as Koko and Michael.

Koko appeared in many films and television documentaries. She appeared twice in the magazine National Geographic⁴. Her 1978 cover showed a photograph Koko had taken of herself in a mirror.

The second issue, in 1985, included the story of Koko and her pet cat, named All Ball. The story led to the popular book “Koko’s Kitten,” which can be found in many schools worldwide.

In 1998, Koko appeared on the internet in what researchers called the first “interspecies chat.” The gorilla used the event to communicate through an interpreter to directly answer questions from fans.

In 2001, Koko got publicity⁵ again when actor Robin⁶ Williams went to visit her and talked about how moved he was by the experience. “We shared something extraordinary – laughter,” the late actor said at the time.

Western lowland gorillas are threatened in their native environment of central Africa.

The Gorilla Foundation says it will continue to honor Koko by continuing to carry out ongoing⁷ projects. These include conservation efforts in Africa and expanding the Maui Great Ape Sanctuary⁸ in Hawaii.

In addition, the foundation says it plans to create a sign language computer app including Koko that is designed to help gorillas and children alike.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

icon – n. a widely known person or symbol

interspecies – adj. arising or occurring between species

empathy – adj. the ability to understand and share another person's experiences and emotions

mirror – n. piece of glass with a shiny material on one side that produces an image of anything that is in front of it

interpreter – n. someone whose job is to change what someone else is saying into another language

extraordinary – adj. very special, unusual, or strange

conservation – n. the protection of nature

app – n. a computer program designed to do a specific task or set of related or connected tasks

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 gorillas   

n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 )；暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
• Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

4 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

6 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。