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In
this series, we share our gorilla research and care activities
with you through the following features:
1)
Caregiver Corner (what
it's like to interact and communicate with gorillas Koko, Ndume
and Michael)
2) Research Revelations
(what we're learning through interspecies communication and
what it means for humanity)
prepared
by our staff under the supervision of Dr. Penny Patterson, Director
of Research. (Journal PhotoBlog
Archive) |
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| Conversation with Koko: Browsing for Hats |
March 16, 2005 |
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Dr.
Francine "Penny" Patterson has a Ph.D. in Developmental
Psychology from Stanford. She is President and Research
Director of The Gorilla Foundation, and a Member
of the Board of ApeNet - a consortium of foundations
supporting the welfare of great apes through interspecies
communication. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of
"Gorilla, the journal of The Gorilla Foundation/Koko.org."
"Penny's Journal" provides insight into her facinating
relationship with Koko and a way to share with us
her experiences as Koko lives, learns and communicates
"The
differences between humans and gorillas are greatly
overshadowed by what we have in common — and by
communicating with them, we can learn as much about
our own true nature as theirs." Penny Patterson |
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Koko relaxing in her outside yard
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The following conversation
took place between Koko and a volunteer, who happened to be walking by Koko's
outside yard to empty the compost bin, when she was asked an impromptu question
by Koko. It is reported by the volunteer:
On Saturday, February 12, 2005 I had an impromptu conversation with Koko that
she initiated no less!
I was going outside to empty the compost bin around 11:30 am, and Koko was outside
and she did her attention noise, which is a kissy lip smacking sound. I turned
towards her and she signed
Koko:
“that browse that”
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Koko
signs“browse” (a sign she invented) by,signing the letter “s”
at her brow. |
where browse means the leafy green vegetables that she eats, like lettuce
and kale and stuff. I signed back:
Volunteer:
“no, not browse, trash, not good food”
then she hunched her arms back in front of her in her lap with a heavy sigh. It
was funny, like "oh, darn."
She then signed something that I didn't understand, a sign where she rubs her
finger across her lip one time, and then she tapped the top of her head. I knew
I had seen the lip thing before but that it was a gorilla sign, not an ASL sign.
But I couldn't remember it. The head tap means “hat.” So, I'm standing
there trying to understand what she said, and I finally just signed
Volunteer:
“I don't understand.”
She repeated the signs but started with pointing at me, then did the lip rub in
one direction then the hat. Then I got it! The previous week, I had been wearing
my Guatemala hat. Very colorful. And the “lip” sign is her sign for
“woman.” So Koko had signed:
Koko:
“you, woman, hat.”
I signed back:
Volunteer:
“Yes! Last week I had a hat, right! This week I not have.”
Then I signed that I had to go throw the trash away.
That was sooooooo coool! She initiated the conversation and she remembered me!
How cool is that!!!!!
Stay tuned for more interspecies communication journal highlights from the
perspective of Gorilla Foundation caregivers and researchers in “Penny’s
Team Journal.”
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Please
email us at research_feedback@koko.org
if you have any questions, or would like to share an observation
or insight about the preceding interspecies conversations.
Your feedback can inform our research and is a vital part
of our mission.
Thank you,
Dr. Francine Penny Patterson
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