Comments On: 25th Anniversary Project Koko

25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.1 #1 Dec. 1977 excerpts {part 1 of 3)
THANKS
The great news, for those of you who have not already heard, is that the Gorilla Foundation now owns Koko. The purchase, from the San Francisco Zoo, was made official on June 15, 1977 and we want to thank you all once more for the generosity that made this possible...
MICHAEL
Michael is a 4'12 year-old male lowland gorilla who came to us a year ago last September from Vienna. His arrival was a little hard on Koko at first, but they are now good friends and have strenuous play periods together every day. Michael is also learning American Sign Language and now knows about 20 signs. Without any special coaxing on our part, Koko and Michael have started to sign to each other -- a very exciting development.
PROGRESS REPORT ON PROJECT KOKO, 1976 Francine Patterson
A Bright Note on the Educational Scene -- Dateline Stanford:
While declining language skills among humans are the subject of active debate in the Bay Area, happily I can report that Koko has not been affected by this trend.
Koko now knows and uses approximately 540 different words in sign language. Her vocabulary has expanded in every conceptual domain, with the greatest increase occurring in the object-name category. This parallels language development in human children. Koko has acquired some words relating to the concept of time (e.g. now, time, finished) but she has not yet consistently used question words such as who, where, or why. She can appropriately answer questions employing those words.
Responses to "why" questions have not yet been reported for chimpanzees learning language. Koko now regularly answers such inquiries. For example, one day a deaf companion chased her most cherished ball under the project trailer in a game of keep-away, and gained possession of it in violation of Koko's special rules (which I had failed to adequately explain to her opponent). Koko's response was to give her companion a play bite on the posterior. About 20 minutes later when asked why she bit her friend, she replied, "Him ball bad." Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.1 #1 Dec. 1977 excerpts {part 2 of 3)
Innovative Uses of Language
Koko has introduced numerous innovations during the past year: She has invented signs and names for novel objects; she talks to herself; engages in imaginative play using sign; has used language to lie, to express her emotions and to refer to things displaced in time and space.
Some of Koko's invented names for new objects are strikingly apt. For example, she called a zebra a "white tiger," pomegranate seeds "red corn drink," and a Pinocchio doll an "elephant baby." Koko also invents insults. One morning I noticed that Koko was glum (the previous morn- ing she had been punished for ripping the rug in her room) and the following conversation took place:
Koko: Frown.
Penny: Why frown?
K: Penny toilet dirty devil!
Spontaneous comments to her human companions about occurrences in her surroundings are not unusual. For example, she signed "listen quiet" when an alarm clock stopped ringing in the next room, and "chin red" when I bumped my chin.
Not all of Koko's utterances are directed to her human companion. She has been observed talking to herselt to her dolls, to various animals, and to another gorilla. Her habit of talking to herself has increased in frequency over time. The utterances have gradually increased in length as well. Often, while nesting in clothes or blankets and toys, she will stop arranging the nest momentarily and sign "that red" (indicating a piece of red cloth), or "sleep" and lie down in the nest. Frequently, as she looks through books and magazines she will comment to herself about what she sees; for example, "that dry" (to a picture of a girl drying her face with a towel) and "that flower." At times when her companions have been otherwise occupied, Koko has taken her toy gorillas into the room farthest from them and engaged in sign by herself while playing. One day she seemed to structure an imaginary social situation between two gorilla dolls. She placed the gorillas before her and signed "bad, bad" while looking at the pink gorilla, then "kiss" directed to the blue gorilla. Next she signed "chase tickle" and hit the two of them together (making them play?), then she joined in and wrestled them both at once. When the play bout ended, she signed "good gorilla, good good." At this point Koko noticed that Cathy, her teacher, was watching and left the dolls. Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.1 #1 Dec. 1977 excerpts {part 3 of 3)
Although it is difficult to empirically demonstrate intent, Koko has made statements in response to questions about her misbehavior which appear to be lies. For instance, once she was caught in the act of trying to break a window screen with a chopstick she had stolen from the silverware drawer. When asked what she was doing, Koko replied "smoke mouth" and proceeded to place the stick in her mouth as though she was smoking it (this is a game we engage in frequently with sticks and other cigarette-shaped objects). On another occasion, Koko, who had just tipped the scales at 90 pounds, sat on the kitchen sink and it sank about 2 inches. Not knowing how it had happened, I asked Koko, "Did you do that?" and Koko signed "Kate there bad," pointing to the sink. Kate, my deaf assistant who had witnessed the incident, defended herself by explaining the situation.
Koko's apparent prevarications usually take place under interrogation at the scene of the crime, immediately following the misbehavior. However, Koko will often respond to questions about such incidents long after their occurrence, indicating that she is capable of using language to refer to events and objects removed in time and space. This ability, known as displacement, is considered to be a fundamental characteristic of human language. For example, the day after Koko bit a companion, I asked her "What did you do yesterday?" She replied, "Wrong, wrong. "What wrong?" I queried. "Bite." The following conversations took place 3 days after the event discussed:
Koko: Bite.
Penny: You admit it? (Previously Koko had referred to the bite as a scratch.)
K: Sorry bite scratch. (I show Koko the mark on my hand--it really does resemble a scratch.)
K: Wrong bite.
P: Why bite?
K: Because mad. (A few minutes later it occurs to me to ask Koko,)
P: Why mad?
K: Don'tknow.
The preceding example is noteworthy because Koko makes reference to a past emotional state-- her anger--without actually experiencing it at the moment. This is a clear indication that she is able to separate affect from the context of her utterances, another important feature of displacement.
There is other evidence that Koko can reflect upon and report about her feelings. She has spontaneously informed her companions that she is happy or sad or tired and regularly answers questions such as "how are you?" and "how do you feel?" The gorillahas even reported about her fears: Koko has always been repulsed by lizard-like creatures and toys. One day, several hours after a play session in which she avoided direct contact with Michael, I asked her if she was afraid of him. She made no response, so I rephrased the question.
P: What are you afraid of?
K: Afraid alligator.
Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.1 #2 June 1978 excerpt {part 1 of 2)
When this was published in June 1978) Michael was about 5 years old Ann Southeombe had been Michael's primary caretaker for six months
THEY LEARN, WE LEARN Ann Southcombe
During the past six months, as I have been involved in the process of expanding Michael's mental capacities, he has been increasing my "gorilla" awareness. Before becoming Michael's foster mother, I spent six and a half years caring for seven baby gorillas at the Cincinnati Zoo. I experienced a special closeness with man's nearest relative and learned that each gorilla was an individual with emotional and physical needs much the same as those of humans. As I look back, I wonder how much they could have told me and the world if they had been given the opportunity to learn a language which our two species could use and understand. Having spent time with Michael, it is now hard to imagine what it would be like to interact with gorillas who could not express their specific desires, such as what they would like to eat, or when and where they wish to be tickled.
Proving once again that gorillas share human qualities, Michael has told his first lie! One day in May when asked by volunteer Ellen Strong, "Who ripped my jacket?" Mike signed "Koko." Ellen, knowing that the culprit was the short hairy one now looking at her so innocently, repeated the question. This time he placed the blame on Penny. Finally, after relentless cross-examination he confessed. It was "Mike." Brad and Trouble

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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.1 #2 June 1978 excerpt {part 1 of 2)
Not all of Michael's accomplishments are on the shady side. He has acquired concepts of size (big and little), shape (round, square and triangular) and identity (same and different) and has learned to distinguish by name 5 different colors. For example, if I ask him to find something in his room that is colored red he will search and bring me a red toy. Or if I place objects of varying colors and sizes before him, he can point out which is big and blue or little and yellow. Michael's vocabulary (now 45 signs) includes words for his favorite foods (nut, orange), play activities (chase, bite, tickle), object names (alligator, key) as well as more abstract words (good, bad).
The following is apart of a conversation we had one morning when I was taking a sign-only sample (I did not use my voice at all). He was in his playroom alone while I cleaned his bedroom (he had missed his toilet during the night). When I finished, I addressed him in signs through the wire-mesh door separating us:
Ann: You good?
Mike: Out eat drink. Michael has not yet had breakfast.
A: You good, no more dirty?
M: Good, good.
A: You want out?
M: Out key. I let him out and he walks directly to the kitchen.
A: What you want?
M: Eat drink.
A: Which?
M: Drink.
A: This? (I point to milk.)
M: Milk. I make him a glass of powdered milk which he finishes quickly.
M: More.
A: More what?
M: Drink. I make another. After breakfast, as we sit in his playroom Michael signs:
M: Out chase tickle foot. As I move to tickle him he races out of the room, up the hall then hack to me.
M: Tickle bellybutton. I comply, and he likes it so much that he requests this game again and again. Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.2 #2 June 1979 excerpt {part 1 of 2)
TALKING GORILLAS AS INFORMANTS:
QUESTIONS POSED BY JANE GOODALL REGARDING WILD CHIMPANZEES Francine Patterson
Will language-endowed apes one day accompany field researchers into the jungle and bush to act as informants and translators for wild apes? Perhaps.
Last June Dr. Jane Goodall wrote us with two questions about her wild chimpanzees which she felt could be answered by Koko and Michael. First, she suggested that we ask Koko whether she preferred her human companions and observers to stand or sit in her presence. Dr. Goodall related that she is constantly striving to impress upon the field assistants observing chimpanzees at the Gombe Research Centre in Tanzania the importance of sitting or crouching whenever possible while carrying out the research. She commented that she thought it made sense for humans to come down to the chimps' level, thus posing less of a threat or at least being less conspicuous. Dr. Goodall wrote, "I'd love to be able to tell (this to) the Gombe chaps 'straight from the horse's mouth' as it were."
On several occasions we asked Koko "Do you like people to stand up or sit down when they watch (talk to) you?" She clearly and emphatically responded "Down!" (using two hands) to each inquiry but one, to which her reply was "Sleep" followed by the act of prostrating herself as if to make her point perfectly clear.
The other question was a bit more complicated. Dr. Goodall wrote: "When the males (chimpan- zees) go on patrols they sniff twigs, grass, trees, especially spat-out wadges of food and nests. What do they learn from this? Just that chimps have been there? Or anything about the chimps sex, even individually? Sometimes a chimp who has been having social problems-been attacked a few times, for instance-seems nervous. If he is alone he, too, may start sniffing spat-out wadges, etc."
We are in the process of administering tests which will provide at least a partial answer to this question. Immediately after receiving the letter, I gave Koko the first simple pilot test, involving small chewed pieces of paper towel. I chewed one and Ron Cohn chewed another. After hiding them for a moment and rearranging them to eliminate the possibility of visual cues, I presented them to Koko and asked her to smell them and tell me which was Ron's. She carefully sniffed each then pointed to the correct one. We repeated the procedure, this time asking which was Penny's. She sniffed less carefully, but unhesitatingly pointed to the correct wad. Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.2 #2 June 1979 excerpt {part 2 of 2)
Our next test involved six sterile cotton pads, three of which were worn under the arms of familiar humans (Ron, Dave and myself), two of which were rubbed under the arms of Koko and Michael, and one of which served as a control. We placed the pads in plastic containers marked in such a way that the experimenter did not know whose pad was in a given bottle at the time of testing. Koko was given one bottle at a time, and instructed to smell and identify it with a name (she was told it could be Ron's, Penny's, Dave's, Michael's or Koko's). Her responses were as follows:
1. Know. Koko smell. [Koko's]
2. Penny. (She responded before I even asked, and when I asked again "whose," she signed "finished.") [Penny's]
3. Know Koko, Penny, visit that (pointing to the reward). Don't-know toilet. Trouble devil. [Michael's]
4. Have smell. (So I asked whose smell?) Stink nose. [Ron's]
5. Have Koko smell. (smell, whose?) That nose. Think trouble there. Eugene. [Dave's]
Koko may have really been having difficulty with the test, or she may simply have been being contrary, because we gave Mike the same test under slightly different conditions which required a pointing rather than a naming response, and he responded correctly on 10 out of 16 trials (chance would have been 5.3). This performance is particularly impressive in view of the performance of three humans who took the test~Dave, Ron and I. We all responded essentially at chance levels, guessing one each correctly out of 6 trials. Interestingly, our correct identifications were of the gorillas--Ron and Dave labeled Mike's sample correctly and I, Koko's.
One week after Koko participated in preparing the test, she found an extra gauze pad in her toybox, carefully rubbed it under her arm and sniffed it.
Further tests are underway which will replicate and extend the above tests. How well and under what conditions can the gorillas distinguish familiar individuals or the species or sex of unfamiliar individuals using exclusively olfactory cues? We hope to find out. Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.3 #1 February 1980 excerpt
HISTORY AND GROWTH OFF THE GORILLA FOUNDATION
The Gorilla Foundation was incorporated in the spring of 1976 as a public foundation supporting scientific and educational work with the great apes, particularly gorillas. Our goals include the fostering of programs, both nationally and internationally, for the conservation and propagation of gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans; the support and encouragement of the study of behavioral and linguistic development of the great apes and of the optimum conditions for their care in captivity.
In order to make information about gorillas available to a large number of people, membership categories in the Gorilla Foundation were established in September of 1976, and the number of members has more than doubled annually since that time: By the end of 1976, there were approximately 50 members; by the end of 1977, ust over 500; at the close of 1978, more than 1,200; and at the close of last year, our records showed just under 2,500 active members.
Grants have been awarded to the Gorilla Foundation for its language research with gorillas by the National Geographic Society (we are now in our fourth year of support), the David and Lucille Packard Foundation ($1,000 toward relocation), the Favrot Fund ($15,000 for computer facilities and $5,000 toward the new facility), and the William Penn Foundation ($8,800 toward color videotaping equipment).
The costs of relocation (from the Stanford University campus to private facilities in Woodside in 1979) totaled $6,500 and an estimate for restructuring the existing out-building for the gorillas is $35,000. Your memberships help us with those research expenses not covered by grants, our payments on Koko's and Michael's new home, and additional learning materials, toys, and an occasional treat-all of which help provide the gorillas with the healthy and stimulating environment so essential to their happiness and the development of their full learning potential. Additional and earmarked donations will help to make possible a perment building large enough to house the gorillas when they are grown and a spacious outdoor enclosure where they can play and exercise freely. Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.4 #1December 1980 excerpt
CONVERSATIONS WITH KOKO Barbara Hiller
September 11, 1980
K: Me clown.
B: You are a funny clown.
K: Clown nose you.
B: You're a clown nose.
K: Koko good.
B: You're a clown nose.
K: Unattention.
B: I'm teasing you, you're very pretty.
K: Koko gorilla good.
B: Would you like to be able to fly like a bird?
K: Down.
B: You'd rather stay on the ground?
K: Down floor.
B: I think you're smart.
Koko laughs.
September 18,1980
B: Why is the man fixing the window?
K: Out out bad.
B: Why did the window come out?
K: Sorry out.
B: Who made it come out?
K: Me Koko.
B: Did you break it?
K: Break out.
B: Why did you break it?
K: Sorry Koko good.
B: Would you like to talk about something else?
K: Please like. Sip drink lip sip Koko good.
(Koko refers to women and girls as "lips.")
October 9,1980
B: Tell me something interesting about Penny.
K: Good teeth bite.
B: Whobite?
K: Teeth good whistle.
B: Was Penny whistling?
K: Teeth whistle.
B: You and Penny whistling?
K: Good whistle.
(Later I leamed that Penny had been trying to imitate a bird call by whistling.)
October 11, 1980
B: How about signing chase? (Voice only.)
K: Finished work.
October 16, 1980
B: What do people put on their hands when it's cold?
K: Stethoscope.
B: Koko. That's weird.
K: Think funny.
Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.6 #2 June 1983 excerpt
MEASURING KOKO'S MLU by Lyna Watson
As a graduate student at San Francisco State University and a research assistant to Dr. Patterson, I have had the opportunity to observe Koko's language use. During the Fall of 1980, I elaborated on a study of language development initially made by Dr. Patterson as part of her doctoral research. This study involved applying a measurement called the Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) to samples of Koko's signing. One indication of language acquisition in human children is the progressive increase in the length of their utterances.
We wanted to measure the current length of Koko's utterances. I taped two-hour samples of conversations with Koko once a week for eight weeks. After transcribing these tapes, each utterance was assigned to one of three response categories: spontaneous, elicited, or self directed. The difference between the spontaneous and elicited was based on whether or not Koko' s utterance was a response to a question.
I found that Koko's utterances had become longer since Patterson's assessment in 1974. At that time, Koko's average utterance was 1.82 signs long and her longest utterance was made up of 11 signs. In my smaller sample, Koko's MLU was 2.33 (excluding repeated signs as additional words) and her longest utterance was 9 signs long. The classification results were interesting. Spontaneous utterances made up 69% of my sample; elicited utterances were 19%; self di- rected, 12%.
Koko's MLU has continued to increase. More recent samples, taken in 1983, have shown it to be as high as 4.5. It should be noted that Ameslan [ASL] is a visual language and it is possible to utter two or more words simultaneously; therefore, such measures as MLU may not apply without correction for this difference. Brad and Trouble

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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.11, #1 December 1987 excerpt
FANTASY PLAY by Francine Patterson and Mary M. Kennedy {Part 1}
That great apes have imaginations is surprising to some, but was described in 1951 for the chimpanzee Vicki by Catherine Hayes in The Ape in Our House. Vicki was observed to create on her own a game involving an imaginary pull toy, and later allowed Hayes to participate.
Michael engaged in a similar game when he was younger. During solitary play he would run in circles with his eyes closed, pulling a blanket behind himself. As the tempo of his play increased, it would sometimes culminate in a scream, although he was in no danger or pain. It became apparent with repeated observations, that Michael's screams were in response to threats from imaginary blanket "monsters."
Koko, too, demonstrates her imagination in play. She has provided an understanding of the gorilla imagination never before possible by integrating language into these games. Several incidents are described below.
February 9, 1984
Koko gives her (toy) cat a drink from a bowl.
Barbara Hiller: That's very nice.
Koko leans over and shares the drink with the cat, making loud sipping noises.
Koko: (She picks up the cat.) Soft. Koko puts socks on the cat's head.
K: Hat.
Koko wraps a piece of cloth around the cat.
K: Koko good.
B: You keep your cat nice and warm.
Koko kisses her cat.
K: Cat that.
B: What do you call your cat?
K: Cat tiger cat know.
B: That's a nice name, Tiger.
K: Cat tiger (emphatic).
B: Sorry. Cat Tiger is a nice name.
K: Cat tiger Koko good.
Brad and Trouble

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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.11, #1 December 1987 excerpt
FANTASY PLAY by Francine Patterson and Mary M. Kennedy {Part 2}
April 25, 1987
Penny observes as Koko takes a doll and a multicolored pencil to her back room. She uses the pencil as if applying lipstick to her top and bottom lips and to write on an envelope. Koko takes her baby doll outside to her chute leading to the playyard.
K: Baby (over her doll).
Koko comes back into her front room.
K: Come. (To Penny, for her to follow Koko to the back room.)
K: Love. (To her doll, which she then strokes and kisses.)
She puts the baby into the purse it came in and zips it closed, puts the strap over her arm and signs,
K: No-there (pointing to the purse). Come. Come tickle. (To Penny, who declines this invitation to follow her to the back room;)
Koko settles in the back room with the baby doll and her gorilla Koko doll.
K: Drink nipple, baby. (Cradling her baby doll.)
K: Nipples (two hands) drink there (to gorilla doll's mouth).
Koko signs as she holds the baby doll in her lap.
K: You boy. (Or: "You Mike." The signs are 8 similar, and Koko signed away from Penny.)
P: Careful with her head or his head. (Voice only.)
Koko was pulling the neck of the baby doll.
K: Gorilla have (over the doll held on her chest).
Foot (Koko's sign for male, signed on the baby doll's foot).
Then Koko mouths the doll's foot.
K: You (indicating the baby doll).
Then she cradles the baby at her stomach.
K: That (on the gorilla doll's bellybutton area). Then Koko puts the baby doll on the gorilla doll's stomach, and signs,
K: Stomach (on the gorilla doll's stomach).
Koko then takes the baby doll, pulls its legs apart, shakes it, and then cradles it. Koko seems frus- trated. (Earlier, Penny had told her, "One day you'll have a baby, but you need to get Michael to help.") Next Koko strokes and kisses the baby doll, then cradles it. She goes to the kitchen and gets a book and a small monkey clip-toy. After mouthing the label on the toy, she tries to bite its face. But then she kisses and cradles it, and finally presses it face to face with the baby doll.
Although Cathy Hayes remembers her imaginary play with the chimpanzee Vicki as "a symbol of.. the tragedy of the language barrier that separates us," our understanding of Koko's solitary games is reinforced and deepened by the bridge of her language, allowing her to clarify her actions. Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.12, #2 December 1989 excerpt
KOKO'S REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE CHARTED WITH HUMAN HORMONE TESTS
by Francine Patterson and Lisa Saphire
The study of hormones in female gorillas holds promise for increasing their reproductive success. Since the clinical properties of human and gorilla reproductive hormones are virtually identical, analyses designed for humans can be directly applied to gorillas.
During the past three years, we have successfully used a commercially available test for analysis of human luteinizing hormone (hLH) on samples of Koko's urine. The purpose of this test, known as OvuSTICK and manufactured by Monoclonal Antibodies, Inc., is to detect the mid-cycle LH surge, which is an aid in predicting the time of ovulation. During the past two years we have also analyzed Koko's urine for PDG, the primary urinary metabolite of progesterone (a hormone produced shortly after ovulation), using a test known as ProgestURINE, also available from Monoclonal Antibodies, Inc. Both tests are indicators of hormonal changes accompanying ovulation that can be performed simply, without expensive laboratory equipment, and could be invaluable in monitoring the reproductive cycles of female great apes in captivity. A third test, OvuQUICK, by the same manufacturer has been used successfully on Koko's urine to determine her LH hormonal status within minutes and could be especially useful for accurate timing of artificial insemination attempts with great apes.
For the past eleven years we have gathered data on physical and behavioral concomitants of Koko's estrus cycle. The results of the hormone tests have indicated that body odor and signing change with phases of the reproductive cycle.
A 1988 study by Doreen Kimura of the University of Westem Ontario, showed that women perform better in verbal fluency and fine motor tasks (e.g.' tongue twisters) when their estrogen levels are high. In 1984 we noticed that during Koko's pre-estrus period (when levels of estrogen are increasing), her signing became more creative and prolific. Lyna Watson (1984) performed an analysis of Koko's signed output and correlated it with phases of her reproductive cycle. She found that at the end of Koko' 5 pre-estrus period a rise in Koko's signed output occurred. She also found that Koko's signing to herself was significantly more frequent during' estrus than at any other time in her cycle. Further studies are being conducted to examine additional evidence for or against these trends. Hormonally-related fluctuations in Koko's signing that parallel human results produce additional evidence for a continuum between human and gorilla linguistic abilities.[Note: The tests OvuKIT (formerly OvuSTICK) and OvuQUICK are now made by QUIDEL Corporafion, which generously donates kits for our continued tracking of Koko's reproductive cycle.) Brad and Trouble

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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.14, #1 December 1990 excerpt
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN A LOWLAND GORILLA: KOKO'S FIRST TEN YEARS OF VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
Francine G.P. Patterson and Ronald H. Cohn
The lowland gorilla Koko has been exposed to both sign language and spoken English from the age of one year. Analyses of her sign vocabulary development for the first ten years of the project were performed. Eight hundred seventy-six of Koko's signs qualified according to emitted criterion of spontaneous and appropriate use on one or more occasion and 290 signs met the Patterson criterion of such use on half the days of a given month. In addition to signs acquired from human teachers, Koko's vocabulary includes signs of her own invention such as body-hair and thermometer (6% of emitted signs), signs she has modulated or compounded, for example stinker and banana-lollipop (2%), signs learned from a second gorilla subject, such as hit-in-mouth andpull- out-hair (0.5%), and gestures occurring in uninstructed gorillas such as pound and come-gimme (1%). Koko's progress in acquiring language is compared to that of human children with respect to vocabulary size, sign articulation, generalization, and word types classified into functional categories. This gorilla's vocabulary development demonstrates parallels with that of human children, especially deaf children learning sign language, but her acquisition pace is significantly slower. Brad and Trouble
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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.15, #1 December 1991 excerpt
GORILLA FOUNDATION WELCOMES NEW GORILLA
The Gorilla Foundation is preparing to welcome a third gorilla! Ndume, a 10-year-old male from Cincinnati, will be introduced to Koko this winter. As he is younger and slightly smaller than Michael, we hope that Koko will find him an attractive mate. Video footage taken during his stay at the Brookfield Zoo shows him cuddling and playing with other adult and infant gorillas. Preparations for Ndume's arrival have been underway since September, when Dr. Edward Maruska, Director of the Cincinnati Zoo, contacted the Gorilla Foundation to offer Ndume on loan. Discussions between the Foundation and the zoo were advanced at the Species Survival Plan (SSP) meeting later that month.
The Foundation's participation in the Gorilla SSP then had to be approved by the Wildlife Conservation and Management Committee (WCMC) of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums. We received a letter on November 18 from Bruce Reed, WCMC Chairman, granting this approval. We are especially grateful to the Gorilla SSP committee for recommending the transfer, and to the WCMC for approving our application.
Michael Dulaney, Area Supervisor for Primates, Cats and Small Mammals at the Cincinnati Zoo, has been instrumental in negotiating this transfer and invaluable in making the necessary arrangements. Through frequent phone conversations, he assisted in the careful planning of Ndume's journey to California. The San Diego Zoo has agreed to lend a specially-reinforced transport cage to ensure Ndume's security during the journey west
. On December 10, Ndume will be driven in a heated truck from Cincinnati to Indianapolis, and from there Federal Express will fly him to San Jose via Memphis. Ron Cohn and Michael Dulaney will accompany Ndume on the trip. Gorilla Foundation staff will meet the plane and drive Ndume the last few miles to his new residence.
In October, workers began preparing new indoor quarters for Ndume's use adjacent to the gorillas' large outdoor playyard. Meyer Metal Products in Fremont is fabricating Ndume's portable two-room suite. The concept for the floor plan was devised by Wayne Meyer to facilitate the introduction and initial interactions of the two gorillas.
Ndume was born October 10, 1981. He spent his first three weeks of life with his mother, but was nursery reared from that point on. He is one of four offspring produced by father Ramses 1 and mother Mata Hari at the Cincinnati Zoo. One of their infants survived only a few days. Ndume's brother Rumpel, seven years old, is at the St. Louis Zoo. His 5-year-old sister Rwanda went to the St. Louis Zoo in May 1988, to the Birmingham Zoo in May 1989, and returned to the Cincinnati Zoo in August of this year.
Ndume, whose name means "Male," fathered four offspring during three years at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. His firstborn, a male, died at birth. His daughter Baraka was born to Babs on August 19, 1990. This year, he's become the father of two sons: Chuma, born June28 to Alpha; and Zuza, born September 9 to Aquilina. Next year? We are keeping our fingers crossed. Brad and Trouble

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25th Anniversary Project Koko, "Gorilla" vol.18, #1 Winter 1994-95 excerpt
KOKO MAKES TELEVISION HISTORY
For years, television commercials have featured fictional "talking" animals of all sorts. Now, for the first time, the talking in a television ad is actually being done by a nonhuman-Koko. As a spokesperson for her species, Koko uses her sign language ability to make a simple yet eloquent appeal to humans on behalf of all gorillas.
Creation of this unique television public service ad was masterminded by Jon Steel, a long-time Gorilla Foundation member and a partner and general manager at the San Francisco advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. Using Ron Cohn's videotape footage of Koko, Jon put together a team of people from his agency to handle all other aspects of the project, and coordinated the donation of time and expertise from other individuals and companies. Jon con- tinues to handle distribution of the ad.
San Francisco companies Phoenix Editorial and Veritel Video donated editing time and facili- ties. The ad's evocative background music was composed by Andy Newell of Earwax. Media placement was handled by Andrea Bouchante of SFM in New York.
Koko completed her portion of the ad in only one 30-minute filming session with Penny and Ron. She proved to be very patient and cooperative. Although working from a "script," Koko also ad-libbed with words Penny did not ask her to say, declaring, "Me gorilla good." After allowing Penny to pose her against a white backdrop, moving this way and that and looking at Ron's camera on request, Koko declared she was "finished" with adramatic sweep of her hands. Laughing, Penny told her, "No, you're not finished," and Koko graciously stayed put. The session's out-takes reveal several attempts to have Koko sign "cut" before making her exit:
Penny: Cut.
Koko: Cut.
P: OK, now you can come down.
Koko climbs down from her seat but puts her face fight up to the camera instead of moving away. They try again.
P: Say "cut," meaning "I'm finished." Cut...
K: Cut.
P: . .and then you can leave.
K: Good. (As she leaves.)
With her gentle, expressive face and clear, concise signs Koko very effectively implores viewers to "help" gorillas. English subtitles accompany her signing and also inform viewers that only 650 mountain gorillas remain in the world. Through the powerful medium of television, Koko's message raises public awareness about the plight of gorillas and other endangered spe cies. Her urgent plea for help can reach even people who are unlikely to learn about gorillas from other sources.
Koko's ad has already generated a positive response from viewers in California and Hawaii. Every time the spot airs, the phones start ringing in the Gorilla Foundation office.
If you have not yet seen Koko's ad on TV in your area, please contact your local TV stations and urge them to air it. Stations should call the Gorilla Foundation at (800) 634-6273 for more information about the ad or to obtain a tape. Brad and Trouble
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im cool
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