I came across an article in the English Sunday Times a week ago, which casts a fascinating sidelight on language acquisition, and our own status as naked apes (including that vital sense of humour):

Koko is the first gorilla to have been taught sign language. With a vocabulary of more than 1,000 words and an IQ of 80, she is the first to prove we share a world with other intelligent beings who feel emotions, look forward to Christmas and also have a sense of humour.

The 30-year study of Koko has redefined science’s concept of gorilla intelligence. Genetically, there is only a 2% difference between gorillas and humans: we share the same blood type, have the same number of hairs per square inch and also the same temperament, according to scientists. But what had gone unrecognised by the scientific community was that gorillas also have the ability to learn a language and have complex emotions. […]

Koko lives in the Santa Cruz mountains, in a wooded spot overlooking Silicon Valley. She has her own caravan, with a nest of blankets, which is her bed, in one corner; and a potty, which she has been trained to use, in another. She has a barrel upon which she likes to sit when talking to humans – gorillas feel more secure when they can look down on others – while her toys are strewn everywhere. In addition she has an outside enclosure where she spends her days when it is not raining. But although Koko signs “Cold bad, Gorilla hate,” and “Visitor good”, it is her conversations with Dr Penny Patterson that are inspiring.

“The overriding reality of my discovery is that our abilities as humans, our skills, sensibilities and emotions are almost identical to the great apes. The separation between humans and everything else on the planet is artificial,” she explains. “We are naked apes. They’re just like us inside. I am shocked every day by Koko’s understanding and her capabilities. What we have learnt is that gorillas are more complex than we ever imagined.”

Patterson was a psychology student when Koko was born in San Francisco Zoo in 1971. Language studies had been made using chimpanzees before, but never with a gorilla. “My initial expectation was that I’d work with Koko for four years,” she says. “But after a few evenings together I couldn’t put her down. I ended up staying with her until she’d fall asleep.”… When she started teaching Koko the sign language that deaf-mute people use, forcing the little fingers of the one-year old gorilla into the correct positions for “drink, “eat”, “more” and rewarding her with food, she had no idea how quickly Koko would pick it up.

“At first it seemed Koko was using it as a tool to get something,” says Patterson. “It became the kind of reward system you could expect of a cat or dog. But early on she began to combine signs – that made me think she was capable of more.” Now Koko is so proficient in sign language that if she doesn’t know a word, she invents one. For example, she didn’t know the word for ‘ring’, so she combined the word for “finger” and “bracelet” to express it.

One of Patterson’s favourite stories demonstrates Koko’s sense of humour. When a visitor asked her to show him something scary, she held up a mirror to his face. […] When Patterson asked her what she would like for her 11th birthday, Koko signed she wanted a cat. The story of Koko’s kitten enabled Patterson to learn more about her charge: the kitten was hit by a car and Patterson had to break the news to Koko, who signed “Cry, sad, frown”. Then, once alone, Patterson heard her make the gorilla’s distress call – “It showed us another level of the intelligence of non-human animals,” says Patterson. “Because she could talk about it, she was able to express her grief. Even now, 15 years later, she will still sign ‘Sad frown’ if she sees a kitten.”

Patterson describes Koko’s personality as wilful and stubborn: “She loves babies and young people. She likes feminine things like brushes, lipsticks, scarves and jewellery…” Patterson now wants Koko to conceive. “Koko wants babies badly,” she says. “She tells me so.” Patterson wants to see if Koko teaches her young the same sign language that she uses. But all mating efforts have been unsuccessful. […] Ndume, who Koko chose herself by kissing the television screen showing video footage of gorilla bachelors, has been introduced to her. But Patterson suspects Koko lacks sexual confidence and needs other females around her for encouragement, as in the wild. […] I asked Koko if she is looking forward to moving to Hawaii, where Patterson is raising money to build a gorilla refuge. Koko signed “yes”, but only if she has curtains…

Donations for the Gorilla Preserve can be sent to The Gorilla Foundation, box 620530, Woodside CA95062.


© The Sunday Times, London

This is more about the preserve from the web:

The Gorilla Foundation is constructing a unique gorilla preserve on west Maui, Hawaii. The Maui Preserve is the foundation's highest priority project, as it will not only provide a much more natural setting for Koko and other gorillas, it also represents a vital step toward saving the species from imminent extinction. The Preserve will consist of a secluded Sanctuary on 70 acres of donated land, and a high-tech (or virtual) Visitor Center to be located in the busy tourist town of Lahaina.


For more info, try http://www.koko.org