Koko, the gorilla who showed the world what great apes can do and mastered sign language alphabet, has passed away.
The Gorilla Foundation said in a statement that 46-year-old Koko died Tuesday in her sleep.
The release said that Koko touched the hearts of millions of people around the world as an ambassador for all gorillas, she was beloved and will be deeply missed for being an icon for inter species communication and empathy.
She learned to communicate at a young age
The western lowland gorilla began to learn sign language early in life after she was born in 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo and.
She was then moved to Stanford by researchers in 1974 and established The Gorilla Foundation, a non-profit organization that works to preserve and protect gorillas all around the world.
The Gorilla Foundation later moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains along with Koko.
Koko liked to read and to be read to, she purred at parts of books she particularly enjoyed, The Gorilla Foundation said in a blog post.
The foundation said that she was very sweet and maternal toward kittens, and has had several kittens throughout her lifetime. Her “tenderness” showed people how soft, sweet, and loving a gorilla can be,
Koko managed to make a lot of friends like Fred Rogers, who appeared as Mr. Rogers on TV, and Robin Williams. She used sign language as a form of communication with them.
She was said to have understood around 2,000 words of English, and could usually keep up a conversation.
She taught the world about gorillas
The foundation says that Koko has taught the world a profound amount about the emotional capacity and cognitive abilities a gorilla can have.
Koko was the star in several documentaries and appeared twice on the cover of National Geographic. The foundation said that the first cover of the magazine featured a photo she’d taken of herself in a mirror.
Koko was promoted widely through appearances and the release of a picture book about her and one kitten that lived with her.
She has also been exhibited as a painter.
The foundation will continue with gorillas’ preservation and conservation using continued projects, while including a special sign language application featuring Koko.
Learn The American Sign Language Alphabet

The American Sign Language (ASL) alphabet is extremely important when learning ASL.
The British Sign Language (BSL) is another important part of the sign language family. The British Sign Language is the language used in the Babbie signs that are used on the streets. These signs are very similar to the American ‘Q’ and ‘E’ alphabets. However, the British Sign Language has two versions: British English and American English. The British Sign Language is the language of the deaf and hard of hearing people who can’t speak or hear well, and it is spoken differently than American English by these people.
Both ASL and BSL have four main alphabets that are commonly used: the upper case ‘a’, lower case ‘a upper case ‘e’ and the middle case’m’. The British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language (ASL) share some of the same alphabets. But there are differences in how the signs are used and in the way they’re presented.
In ASL the letter sounds are made by the lips moving from left to right and vice versa. In BSL the lips move in the same direction but the sound is different. In British English, the same sound is produced by making the letter ‘a’ sound followed by an open ‘a’ in the mouth. In American English the sound is made by the lips moving from right to left and then by closing the mouth as in the pronunciation of the word ‘the’.
As we have mentioned, the British Sign Language has its own alphabet. However, the American version is based on the British alphabet. This alphabet was designed so that deaf and hard of hearing individuals would be able to communicate with the wider public. It is the only language that uses the Roman alphabet. It also has special signs such as the sound ‘th’ for tone, and the sound’s’ for certain words.
For those who are learning American Sign Language (ASL) it’s important to learn the basic hand gestures associated with the sign language alphabet. For example, the sign for the letter ‘I’ is made by placing one’s hand on the tip of the ‘I’ finger and then bringing the hand down slowly to touch the bottom of the ‘I’ finger. The hand motion used for the sound ‘th’ is similar but using the thumb and fingers in a triangle shape. By doing these simple gestures over again you can learn the ASL signs. It’s important to be patient with this process, since it may take some time to get your hand motion down completely.
Many people think that the way American Sign Language works is similar to the way that the manual alphabet used to be used. Although you do move the hands and fingers of the person who uses sign language, the signals are not read the same way in both countries. The deaf sign language alphabets that are used in the United States and the United Kingdom differ because of many reasons.
For example, British Sign Language does not use the Roman alphabet, which has seven letters in each direction. The ASL deaf sign language alphabet, on the other hand, has twenty-two letters in each direction, including up and down and the beginning and end of the words. This is something that has caused some problems, especially for children who are learning to sign. But with a little patience and effort anyone can learn the sign language alphabet, including children who may have difficulties reading the text.