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Koko The Sign Language Gorilla Dies At Age 46 [VIDEO]

Potoooooooo

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http://www.joemygod.com/2018/06/21/koko-the-gorilla-dies-at-age-46-video/

NPR reports:

“The Gorilla Foundation is sad to announce the passing of our beloved Koko,” the research center says, informing the world about the death of a gorilla who fascinated and elated millions of people with her facility for language.

Koko, who was 46, died in her sleep Tuesday morning, the Gorilla Foundation said. At birth, she was named Hanabi-ko — Japanese for “fireworks child,” because she was born at the San Francisco Zoo on the Fourth of July in 1971. She was a western lowland gorilla.

“Her impact has been profound and what she has taught us about the emotional capacity of gorillas and their cognitive abilities will continue to shape the world,” the Gorilla Foundation said.
 
Another victory for humans. Those damn dirty apes will have to pry this planet off our cold, dead hands.
 
Koko...that chimp's all right! <high five>

What a bummer. I remember hearing about Koko from when I was just a teenager. Koko lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains, just a short distance from my house.

We had a member ("Biff the Unclean") here at the old IIDB board who worked at Koko's facility. He used to give us inside stories about Koko's day to day life. I recall a few members thought he was a fraud and imposter and was making the whole thing up. Not sure where that came from.

I like this video of Koko with Robin Williams. RIP to both.

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GorgFtCqPEs[/YOUTUBE]
 
I recall Biff's thread, "Koko gets a toothache", about having to put her to sleep to perform dental work.

I know Biff argued that Koko's language ability was greater than what most researchers thought, and there were several threads on that subject.

46 is a ripe old age, for a gorilla. I expect she lived a life far more interesting than practically all gorillas before her. Still I'm saddened to hear this.
 
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(In case the above link doesn't work) https://giphy.com/gifs/signwithrobert-3o7TKVhsMTczdAzMB2
 
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