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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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| Caregiver Corner: "Gardening with Koko" by Christa Nunes |
July 04, 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 enjoying herself gardening |
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Koko enjoys gardening; she likes getting her own hands dirty, as well as watching
other people do the work. The following is an account of Koko watching the pots
and planters on her porch being replanted.
In Koko's responses, the pound symbol (#) after a word indicates that it is a
vocalization by Koko; otherwise the word or phrase represents her response in
American Sign Language. The kiss# vocalization is commonly used to get someon's
attention.
Koko
Journal Entry: June 10, 2005
by Christa Nunes
I was visiting with Koko in her kitchen, when our gorilla chef,
Jen Upson, and a volunteer, Nancy Birchett, came by Koko’s
porch to do some gardening. Koko heard them before I did and
moved to the porch:
Koko:
Drapes hurry.
I go outside and open Koko’s drapes so she can see what
is happening. Koko is very interested in the gardening.
Jen (Gorilla Produce Supervisor) had told Koko the day before
that she was going to plant in her planters, in addition to
using compost, which she explained is like food for plants and
is made out of the scraps from the kitchen.
Koko:
Do that. (Koko points to one of the pots on her porch.)
Jen and Nancy Yerly (a volunteer) add compost, soil and then
seeds to the empty pot. Jen holds up a packet of seeds, on which
there is a picture of a chamomile flowers.
Koko.
Stink/flower.
Koko notices that Jen and Nancy haven’t added compost
to her parsley plant that is already on her porch.
Koko:
That. (Koko points to the compost).
Koko:
There. (Koko points to the parsley plant).
Jen and Nancy add compost around the parsley. This seems to
satisfy Koko.
A short time later, Koko is still watching the gardening.
Jen and Nancy transplant beans and plant chamomile, dill, and
pea seeds..
Koko:
Kiss#. Hat. (Koko gets Nancy’s attention; Nancy is wearing
a straw hat.).
Koko:
Stink/flower there. (Koko points to a planter that holds a small flowering bean
plant.)
Koko: Do that.
(Koko points to a pair of gloves sitting on the porch.)
Nancy obliges and puts on the gloves then continues gardening. Koko watches
for a little while longer.
Koko. Drapes.
I go open the drapes so she can look out. She spends some time examining her
new plants.
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Dr. Christa Nunes is
a Research Associate/Gorilla Caregiver for the Gorilla Foundation. She came
to the Gorilla foundation in 2004 with a Bachelors degree from UCLA, a Masters
in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado (where she led
several zero gravity experiments that flew on the Space Shuttle) and a PhD.
in Bioengineering from UCSF and UC Berkeley, After her Ph.D., Christa embarked
on a 2 year journey around the world, where she had the opportunity to visit
the SUSA gorilla family on the densely forested Karisimbi Volcano in northern
Rwanda. That experience proved to be life altering, as Christa realized
that she wanted to dedicate herself to the conservation of these incredible
beings — which she now can do. |
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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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