Koko - The Gorilla Who Talks

Penny moved Koko from San Francisco Zoo to Stanford, where their communication work began in earnest. Here Koko became much more adept at signing, learning many new words and combining them proficiently. These were exciting times, and Koko also had some days of freedom, roaming on a nearby ranch.

Koko adopted a kitten called All Ball. When All Ball was hit by a car, Koko’s grief at the loss of her friend captured the imagination of the nation and prompted headlines around the whole world.

In this introduction to the film we meet Koko the world famous gorilla who has spent her life signing to scientist Penny Patterson. We get an overview of Koko’s life with Penny and learn the significance Koko’s life has had for our relationship with animals.

Although Penny and Koko were now deeply bonded, Koko still belonged to San Francisco Zoo, who asked for Koko back to participate in their breeding program. Penny was driven into battle with the zoo.

In 1971 Penny Patterson began teaching sign language to a gorilla named Koko, unaware that this relationship would define both their lives. Over 40 years on, now internationally famous, Koko continues to redraw the line between people and animals.

In this clip we see how Penny began to work with Koko, and how Koko learned her first early signs and began to combine them. We get a sense of the wonder at the breakthrough that was taking place, and see the relationship with Penny develop and grow.

Although Penny was sure that Koko was communicating with her, another ape language specialist, Herb Terrace, became convinced that the whole field was flawed, and published a study to suggest that apes did not know what they were saying, a blow to Penny and other scientists working in the field.