The world was struck with grief once again when the beloved gorilla, Koko, passed away at the age of 46. Koko's ability to use sign language to communicate with people warmed the hearts of millions worldwide. She even became best friends with Robin Williams, and felt tremendous grief after learning about his tragic death in 2014. It wasn't just Koko's ability to learn American Sign Language that stunned the world, it was her empathetic personality and worldview that everyone found to be so fascinating. As Koko got better at communicating, thanks to the efforts of animal psychologist Francine "Penny" Patterson, many people wondered, "What could ape say to mankind?" The former San Francisco Zoo resident actually had a lot of important things to say. Gorillas may not be smarter than humans, but we sure could learn a lot from them. A few years before Koko passed away, she shared an important message to humankind that needs to be heard now more than ever. For the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Koko had an important message for world leaders. "I am gorilla. I am flowers, animals. I am nature," she began signing in front of a dark background. "Man Koko love. Earth Koko love," she continued. "But man stupid, stupid! Koko sorry. Koko cry. Time hurry." Then she looked down in deep thought, before finishing off her message. "Fix Earth. Help Earth. Hurry! Protect Earth. Nature see you. Thank you." As much as many people would like to deny the existence of climate change, it's only doing a disservice to the world by thinking that the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of the environment is not making a negative impact on the world. As Koko said, she's part of nature, and so are we. It's humankind that has a powerful impact on this world, and it's up to us to change the world for the better. You may be interested in reading: Heartbreaking Tributes Pour in After Famous Gorilla who 'Captivated the World' Dies at 46. Koko, The Famous Gorilla Who Learned Sign Language, to Be Laid to Rest at Animal Sanctuary.
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Koko, the gorilla who mastered sign language and became a pop-culture phenomenon, will be laid to rest Saturday in a ceremony at an animal sanctuary in Northern California where she lived for decades. The western lowland gorilla died in her sleep Tuesday morning at the age of 46, according to the Gorilla Foundation, which is headed by animal psychologist Francine "Penny" Patterson, who worked with and cared for Koko since the primate was a year old. Koko was renowned as one of the most intellectual apes in history, beloved by millions of people around the world. Under Patterson's tutelage, she learned more than 1,000 words in sign language and came to understand over 2,000 words spoken to her in English. "She taught me more than I taught her, for sure," Patterson, 71, told ABC News in a telephone interview Thursday. "She had opportunities to show her brilliance and that’s what we saw. We saw a person, really. She had all the attributes of a person and then some." To read more on this story, click here:Koko, The Famous Gorilla Who Learned Sign Language, to Be Laid to Rest at Animal Sanctuary
When a celebrity passes away, fans around the world take to social media to share their condolences and their favorite songs, movies, or events that the deceased was a part of. But what happens when a famous animal passes away? On Thursday, June 21, fans around the world are sharing their loyalty and despair over the “gorilla who captivated the world,” Koko. Koko the ape was one of the most beloved animals in the world who captured the world’s attention years ago over her amazing connection with humans and other animals. The research center that has done a lot of work with the gorilla announced her death. They said, “The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko.” Koko was best known around the world for her ability to communicate through American sign language and for her love of kittens. In 1978, she was even featured on “National Geographic.” To read more on this story, click here:Heartbreaking Tributes Pour in After Famous Gorilla who 'Captivated the World' Dies at 46
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When Kim Silva, retired teacher from the American School for the Deaf, decided to start teaching sign language to her cats, she had no idea how quickly they would learn. In 2009, after losing another beloved pet, Silva and her husband, John, who are both deaf, were ready for a new feline companion. "We fell in love with Bambi on Petfinder," Silva says. Silva's previous teaching experience was pretty much limited to humans, but she was optimistic that American Sign Language would help Bambi live most fully, and that the cat would be a perfectly good student. Bambi was at a rescue shelter in Texas, though, and it would take a while before she could be brought to Connecticut, where Silva lives. In the meantime, she figured, she might as well get started with the cats she already had, even though both of them could hear. A lot of deaf dogs have learned ASL. Groups like the ASPCA say training cats in general is possible (always using positive reinforcement, of course). Still, Silva says even "some deaf people have questioned if cats could learn sign." "Bobcat immediately understood," she says. "My other cat, Bear, was very old and was not interested." Bobcat learned one sign after another "until he learned the new vocabulary," Silva says. "Bobcat was a sponge for sign language! He showed off. He was fabulous." Bambi picked up the signs even more easily, since, Silva explains, she had "peer reinforcement and copied Bobcat." Thomasina, who then joined the family in 2013, after Bear died, learned even faster. The cats have a delightfully expansive vocabulary. Among the words they now know are: "come," "more," "sit," "stay," "shake," "high five," "sleep," "circle," "shrimp,' "play," "canned food," "finish" and "dance" (though sometimes they don't feel like doing that one). They also know "off," which Silva must spell out, letter by letter. A lot of the commands are carried out in one of the videos below. Silva hopes the clip, made by her son-in-law Tim O'Donnell, will inspire others to adopt deaf cats of their own -- and teach them sign language, too. "Cats become much more interactive with people because they want to communicate," Silva says. "Bobcat was a 'pillow that ate' before he learned sign. He interacted with other cats, but ignored people. After he learned sign at age 7 years, he became the extroverted show cat! My cats will also do tricks with other people who sign with them." While the talented cats respond to Silva's commands, they don't actually sign themselves -- at least not a whole lot. "Bambi likes attention and likes to play ball. She stretches up to tap my hands signing 'play' for me to get her ball," says Silva. Still, she remains hopeful her communicative felines will one day acquire more of this rather wonderful skill. "I would like for my cats to be able to sign to me and ask for food," she says. "I have seen this online in other signing cat videos, but was not able to teach Bobcat. I will try again with Bambi and Thomasina."
