Is Koko the gorilla still alive??

Question

just wondering

Answer 1

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, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English. 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 novel Congo.

Koko is short for the name Hanabi-Ko, meaning "fireworks child" in Japanese (a reference to her date of birth, the Fourth of July).


thought this was funny
Criticism from the scientific community centers around the fact that while publications often appear in the popular press about Koko, very few scientific publications exist.

Koko has been involved in several sexual harassment lawsuits. At least three former employees, all female, have claimed that they were pressured into showing their breasts to Koko. They alleged that Dr. Patterson encouraged the behavior, often interpreted Koko's signs as requests for nipple display, and let them know that their job would be in danger if they "did not indulge Koko's nipple fetish." Koko has been known to playfully grab both male and female nipples without warning or provocation. Dr. Patterson claims that Koko uses the word "nipple" to refer to humans

All claims of harassment have been permanently dropped as of 21 November 2005 after the foundation and the parties involved reached a settlement.

Answer 2

Yes, Koko is still alive. Gorillas live a long time...she's wonderful, isn't she. ♥

Answer 3

Yes I belive so. I used to love seeing everything about her. I wonder how her little orange kitty is doing. I will have to search all that out now.

Here are some new pics on her site. I wonder if she has a myspace??

http://www.koko.org/world/kokopix.php

Added:

Looks like she has been through a couple of kitties since the ornage one. I remember that now when the kitty died.

Koko is the reason we know animals have feelings.

Answer 4

Koko is still alive.