Koko, a famous gorilla for her ability to communicate using sign language, was originally named Hanabi-Ko which means “fireworks child” in Japanese. She was born on July 4, 1971, at the San Francisco Zoo. The Gorilla Foundation reports that Koko has a sign vocabulary of over 1,000 words and understands over 2,000 spoken English words. In addition, she demonstrated her motherly instincts by “adopting” two cute cats.
In July of 1984, Koko received a gray kitten as a birthday gift, whom she named All Ball and treated like a baby, carrying the cat around. Unfortunately, All Ball escaped from Koko’s enclosure and was hit by a car a few months later. Koko was distraught and continued to “mourn” the loss of her beloved pet for years to come.
During Koko’s 44th birthday in 2015, Patterson allowed her to choose two new animals from a litter of kittens. Koko’s motherly instincts kicked in right away as she interacted with the small felines. The two cats, named Ms. Gray and Ms. Black, have become very close to Koko and are always ready to snuggle together during nap time. Since adopting the two kittens, Koko has been even more lively and is “signing more than ever.”
During a conversation between Koko and another caretaker, the caregiver showed Koko a skeleton and asked, “Is this alive or dead?” Koko signed, “Dead, draped.” “Draped” refers to being “covered up.” The caregiver then asked, “Where do animals go when they die?” Koko replied, “A comfortable hole.” She then gave a kiss goodbye. Koko, the gorilla, passed away in June 2018 at the age of 46.
