| Koko (gorilla) |
Article Index for Koko |
Information AboutKoko (gorilla) |
|
Koko (born July 4 , 1971 , in San Francisco , California ) is the name of a captive, Acculturated Gorilla trained by Dr. Francine 'Penny' Patterson and other scientists at Stanford University to allegedly communicate with more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language . She has lived most of her life in Woodside, California , but plans for a move to a sanctuary at Maui, Hawaii are nearing attainment. She was also the inspiration for Amy, the 'talking' ape, in the Michael Crichton book Congo . Koko is short for the name Hanabi-Ko, meaning "Fireworks Child" in Japanese, honouring her Fourth of July birthday. USE OF LANGUAGE Some scientists assert Koko's use of signs, and her actions consistent with her use of signs, indicate she has mastered the use of Language . Other scientists dismiss such conclusions, contending she does not understand the meaning behind what she is doing, but learns to complete the signs simply because the researchers reward her for doing so, representing her actions as a result of Operant Conditioning . Another concern that has been raised about Koko's ability to express coherent thoughts through the use of signs is that interpretation of the gorilla's conversation is left to the handler, who may see improbable concatenations of signs as meaningful. Such debate requires careful consideration of what it means to 'learn' or 'use' a language (see Animal Language for further discussion). This debate has been ongoing since the first ape sign language experiments with the chimpanizee Washoe in the 1960s . Other well-known signing Ape s include Chimpanzee s Nim Chimpsky , the Bonobo Kanzi , and the Orangutan Chantek . Gorillas and Bonobos (a subspecies of chimpanzee) are relatively adept with certain forms of communication, whereas Common Chimpanzees and Orangutan s tend toward mastery of manual skills, including Brachiation . Koko's training began at the age of one. Dr. Patterson has assessed Koko's vocabulary at over 1,000 signs, which would place her among the most proficient non-human users of language {Link without Title} . Michael , a gorilla who lived with Koko for several years, also developed a broad vocabulary of signs, but did not become as proficient in this realm before passing away. KOKO'S CATS Although not unique, Koko is one of the few non- Human s known to keep Pet s of a different species. She has cared for several Cat s over the years (see All Ball ). Other gorillas known to have cared for pets include Toto . MEDIA DARLING Many documentaries have been made on Koko, including ''Koko–A Talking Gorilla'' ( 1977 ). On April 27 , 1998 , Koko held an " Online Chat " live on AOL . In the following extracts, LiveKOKO is Koko, DrPPatrsn is Dr. Patterson. Here {Link without Title} is a link to the chat transcript on koko.org. :HaloMyBaby: SBM87 asks, What are the names of your kittens? (and dogs?) :LiveKOKO: foot :DrPPatrsn: Foot isn't the name of your kitty :HaloMyBaby: Koko, what's the name of your cat? :LiveKOKO: no :Question: Do you like to chat with other people? :HaloMyBaby: That was from Rulucky! :LiveKOKO: fine nipple :DrPPatrsn: Nipple rhymes with people, she doesn't sign people per se, she was trying to do a "sounds like..." In August 2004 , Koko was in the news again due to a toothache. She communicated that she was in pain, and according to her handlers was able to indicate her pain level on a scale of 1 to 10. {Link without Title} SEXUAL HARASSMENT |
|
|