I.
Although Puddy misidentified her species, he was absolutely right to declare that Koko the gorilla - who, sadly, died earlier this week - was alright. And the very fact that this one-time grease monkey could recall the name is evidence of just how far and wide her fame had spread.
Indeed, by the time of her death, Koko was probably the best-known and most-loved ape on the planet; popular not only with the writers of Seinfeld, but good pals with many celebrities, including Robin Williams, who struck up a particularly close relationship with her.
II.
Koko was an unusually large female western lowland gorilla with a nipple fetish, a love of kittens, and an amazing ability to communicate with her carers using sign language. She also understood 2000 words of spoken English, in addition to more than 1000 signs.
Born at the San Francisco Zoo, she spent most of her life at the Gorilla Foundation's preserve in Woodside, California, which is certainly not a bad place to live, whatever species one belongs to. Her interesting life has been fully documented by Francine Patterson and others in a number of books, articles and videos.
Some commentators have challenged the extent to which Koko truly understood what she was signing; she didn't use syntax or grammar and the suggestion has been made that her actions were largely the product of operant conditioning. However, she scored well in different IQ tests (between 70-95) and had passed the so-called mirror test, something that most of her kind fail to do. So Koko was clearly not just a typical dumb ape.
Koko died during her sleep, unexpectedly, even though at 46 she had passed the average life expectancy of a gorilla and outlived her original male companion, Michael, by a good few years. The Gorilla Foundation released a statement saying "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."
Koko was an unusually large female western lowland gorilla with a nipple fetish, a love of kittens, and an amazing ability to communicate with her carers using sign language. She also understood 2000 words of spoken English, in addition to more than 1000 signs.
Born at the San Francisco Zoo, she spent most of her life at the Gorilla Foundation's preserve in Woodside, California, which is certainly not a bad place to live, whatever species one belongs to. Her interesting life has been fully documented by Francine Patterson and others in a number of books, articles and videos.
Some commentators have challenged the extent to which Koko truly understood what she was signing; she didn't use syntax or grammar and the suggestion has been made that her actions were largely the product of operant conditioning. However, she scored well in different IQ tests (between 70-95) and had passed the so-called mirror test, something that most of her kind fail to do. So Koko was clearly not just a typical dumb ape.
Koko died during her sleep, unexpectedly, even though at 46 she had passed the average life expectancy of a gorilla and outlived her original male companion, Michael, by a good few years. The Gorilla Foundation released a statement saying "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."
This might be true. But, unfortunately, it doesn't alter the fact that both lowland and mountain gorillas - along with the other great apeas - are in imminent danger of extinction and the only sign they really need to learn is how to wave goodbye ...
See: Seinfeld, Season 9 Episode 11: 'The Dealership', (dir. Andy Ackerman, 1998).
