In the heart of California in 1972, an incredible conversation began to take place. A one-year-old gorilla called Koko was being taught American Sign Language (ASL) by researcher, Dr Francine Patterson. Although keeping an animal in captivity for the sake of testing for 47 years is thankfully unfathomable these days, in her life Koko taught humans more about the great apes and primates than we could have ever imagined. Koko’s unfortunate life left a legacy of understanding.
In particular, she showed us how advanced animal communications can be and their ability to show profound emotions and empathy. Koko was featured on the cover of National Geographic twice in her life, and perhaps most famously, with her pet kitten. This image alone conveyed her ability and love of caring for other sentient beings.
How Koko shaped our understanding of animal communication
Koko passed away in 2018, but completely changed our perception of animal communication. The National Geographic article “Gorillas: Koko’s Sign Language, Culture, and Animals” explores the remarkable life of the western lowland gorilla who learnt to use ASL to communicate with humans. Koko’s narrative is a powerful illustration of the intricacy of animal communication and the ability of empathy to overcome interspecies differences.
Born in 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo, Koko was first known as Hanabi-ko (the “fireworks child”). She started her role in the ground-breaking experiment conducted by Dr Patterson when she was just one year old. Patterson set out to investigate if an ape could pick up human sign language – an ambitious endeavour. The events that took place during the ensuing forty years would permanently alter our understanding of animal intelligence.
Initially, Koko faced difficulties when learning sign language. Her irritation grew as she found it difficult to understand the idea of symbolic communication. When Dr Patterson started signing about everyday activities and familiar objects, things started to change. At the age of two Koko started signing back – her first two signs were “drink” and “more”.
Koko’s vocabulary expanded over time. She grasped the meaning of more than 2000 spoken English words and mastered more than 1000 signs. She communicated not only with basic requests but also with feelings like humour, despair, and delight. She developed close relationships with her carers, asking to be with them and displaying her devotion with cues like “love” and “gentle.” She adapted and combined learned signs to be able to express new meanings that she wanted to convey – when presented with a ring without having learned the word ‘ring’, she used her known language innovatively by signing ‘finger’ and ‘bracelet’ – what more perfect description for a ring could a finger-bracelet be?!
Beyond words: An introspective look at animal feelings
Through her interactions with carers, Koko demonstrated an empathy level never before understood in the animal kingdom. She asked for a kitten for Christmas and after rejecting the toy kitten she was given, she picked out her own grey and white kitten whom she called All Ball. She and All Ball were virtually inseparable until one day, he was tragically run over by a car. Koko spent months refusing meals and signing “cry”, “sleep” and “cat” after her loss.
She asked questions about the nature of death and, in one instance when a National Geographic writer, Cynthia Gorney, asked her what happens to gorillas when they die, Koko responded “comfortable hole bye” in sign language.
Barbara King, a professor emerita of anthropology at the College of William and Mary said that Koko showed us extraordinary abilities. “Because she was smart enough to comprehend and use aspects of our language, Koko could show us what all great apes are capable of – reasoning about their world, and loving and grieving the other beings to whom they become attached.”
“Equally important, though, she raised our awareness of the costs to animal individuals of our scientific curiosity about other sentient lives. Even as we celebrate her life, we must remember that Koko was made to live in confinement in a highly unnatural way from her infancy through [to] her death,” explains Professor King.
The value of ethical research on animals
Current research, despite often still lacking in ethics when it comes to any kind of animal testing, would never allow anything like Koko’s test to be carried out. The welfare of animals should come first – keeping a sentient animal in such a restricted captive environment during the course of such a long life is something science would not be permitted to dream of these days, and we can be grateful of this evolution in humanity.
Koko had a singular experience. She wasn’t pressured or compelled to acquire sign language skills. She and Dr Patterson developed a trusting relationship in this setting, which gave Koko the freedom to decide whether or not to join in.
Her experience has yielded valuable insights that have significantly improved animal welfare. By being aware of their cognitive capacities, we may create environments that are stimulating and meet their emotional and intellectual needs. This sort of research opens the door to better understanding captive animals’ needs and facilitating greater communication with them.
The consequences of Koko’s interactions
Even after Koko passed away, we are still learning from her study; her contributions to the field of animal cognition and communication continue to this day. Research on dolphins, birds, and other primates has produced amazing findings that show how sophisticated animal communication systems are.
Koko’s communication abilities were advanced to the point of using humour in her interactions. Gorney wrote in her National Geographic article about her initial interactions with the gorilla. At first, Koko did not seem to like Gorney, calling her a “toilet”. Dr Patterson responded by saying “Koko, that’s not nice.” After this, Koko warmed to Gorney quickly and engaged with her in sign language conversations. This may not be scientific proof of empathy, but it surely does strongly suggest it.
The power of empathy is arguably the most important lesson to be learned from Koko’s life. When we see and can acknowledge her emotional complexity and intellect, we start to form a more realistic and less separate picture of animals, regarding them as sentient entities that should be respected and understood. This mentality change is essential to improving animal welfare and creating a more peaceful coexistence between humans and the natural world.
CAEP is committed to improving the lives of animals living in captivity by supporting their welfare and encouraging appropriate and enriching interactions between captive animals and their keepers. By sharing knowledge about inspiring tales such as Koko’s, we try to help close the gap between animals and people, and promote a future of more tolerance and greater compassion. Please contact us today if you’d like to donate or get involved in our cause.
**CAEP does not support or condone animal testing of any kind in any way. We simply share information gathered through past tests so that despite the cruelty of their practice, we are still left with useful and important information about animals. What we have learned will never excuse these or any other animal tests**
Header image ©Koko Org
