Born at the Cincinnati Zoo, Ndume was also brought to the sanctuary to be Koko’s mating partner. Koko did get pregnant but had a miscarriage. The two remained close companions after that, according to Patterson. “I think that’s one of Koko’s deepest regrets is not having a baby,” she told ABC News.

Which of the following focuses on how children perceive and understand their experiences? the interference with family life, language development, and emotional regulation. You just studied 115 terms!

Many of her gestures were derived from ASL signs. But yes – Koko certainly did not master anything like a sign language. Gerardo Ortega, a sign language researcher, said Koko never mastered sign language.

“Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and an icon for interspecies communication and empathy. She was beloved and will be deeply missed.” The gorilla, who was said to have an IQ of between 75 and 95, could understand 2,000 words of spoken English.

Currently, Patterson serves as the President and Research Director of The Gorilla Foundation. The foundation was founded with her longtime research colleague Ronald Cohn in 1978 using monetary support from a Rolex Award.

American Sign Language (ASL) was selected by Dr. Penny Patterson as the primary language to teach Koko because of the success that other researchers had with chimpanzees. It turned out to be a good choice, as Koko (and later Michael) learned it quickly. Within just a few weeks the gorillas were using sign combinations.

Michael died of heart failure on April 19, 2000. Koko and her more recent potential mate, Ndume, mourned his passing for several months.

Penny Patterson

In the 1970s and the 1980s there had been suggestions that apes are unable to ask questions and to give negative answers. Despite these abilities, according to the published research literature, apes are not able to ask questions themselves, and in human-primate conversations, questions are asked by the humans only.

Sign language and computer keyboards are used in primate language research because non-human primate vocal cords cannot close fully, and they have less control of the tongue and lower jaw. It is now generally accepted that apes can learn to sign and are able to communicate with humans.

great apes

Orangutans