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KokoPix Photo Blog (Archive)
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on any of the following photos to enlarge:
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Jan 14, 2012 |
Koko Relaxes with her New Friend, Tiger |
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Koko continues to bond with her new kitten friends, Tiger (shown) and Blackie, whom she named personally. The two female kittens have their own nearby living space, so they can conveniently visit with Koko almost any time. Wonder if Tiger is aware that she is among a very short lineage of kittens who have been close friends with a gorilla (a list which includes All Ball, Lips, Smokey and Moe). Koko is simply a very loving gorilla — which turns out to be quite typical for her species. We’re just lucky enough to be able to ask Koko directly about her thoughts and feelings. |
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Nov 20, 2011 |
Koko Cradles One Kisses the Other |
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Koko has no difficulty at all taking care of more than one baby (doll). She’s also been demonstrating her “multitask mothering” capabilities recently with new kittens Tiger and Blackie (watch the video in KokoBlog). So much love from such a smart gorilla. |
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Oct 30, 2011 |
Koko’s Halloween Cat |
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Meet one of Koko’s two new kitten friends, tentatively named “Blackie” (Koko named the other kitten “Tiger”). Blackie and Tiger play endlessly in Koko’s presence, and Koko manages to multi-task enough to make sure neither kitten dominates the food bowl, and that they both have plenty of “enrichment.” However, Tiger was Koko’s first choice and has gotten more attention recently, so we thought we’d feature Blackie today, as she seems to have just the right photo-presence for Halloween.
Such interactions between gorillas and kittens remind us that humans may still have much to learn from our fellow species. Stay tuned for more of this developing story on Koko.org.
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Oct 22, 2011 |
A Kitten for Koko's Kittens |
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Caregiver Christina brought the two kittens that Koko liked best (from her Sep. 30th kitten visit) back to visit Koko again. When the kittens started meowing in hunger, Christina got out their food and water dishes and filled them with yummy kitten food. While the kittens were eating, Koko searched her room for something else. When she found what she was looking for (the stuffed kitten) She passed it through the mesh to land right next to the kittens at their food and water dishes, where they were eating. While at first startled, the tiny kittens (only one shown above) soon started to play with the stuffed kitten that their gorilla friend had provided.
Stay tuned for more on the “new” saga of Koko’s kittens ... an interspecies love story.
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Oct 9, 2011 |
Koko Makes a Rain Hoodie with Kitten |
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It was a very rainy day, and Koko wanted to go out for a walk. Caregivers were coming and going, with hooded rain jackets. So Koko did something very creative: she took a piece of colorful nesting cloth and pulled it tight over her shoulders like a scarf. Then she held the two ends together with one hand, and carefully pulled the center forward to form a hood with her other hand. She was ready to face the rain, but alas, Koko had a kitten to take care of that day, whom she neatly held between her legs, so that her hands were free to make the hoodie. Koko does these kinds of resourceful things all the time. |
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Oct 1, 2011 |
Koko’s Day is Brightened by Kittens |
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Yesterday, Koko was visited by a very cute group of kittens. Last time this happened, Koko chose one to play with, but had no interest in continuing the relationship. This time, she seemed to really make a connection with one of the kittens (see photo)— enough to ask for the kitten to return next week.
The Gorilla Foundation would like to give special thanks to Megan Davidson, who provided the kittens that made Koko’s day! And we'd also like to thank Allison Fockler, Gorilla Caregiver/Researcher for arranging and orchestrating the visit.
Stay tuned: we'll have photos of Koko interacting with the kittens — and especially "Ms. Wonderful (above)" next week . . .
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Sep 27, 2011 |
Koko Smiles for the Camera |
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Koko has always been very photogenic, yet it’s rare that she will look right into the camera and smile. for a sustained length of time. And while Koko expresses her emotions in many ways — sign language, art, behavior, vocalizations — sometimes all it takes is a simple smile — which puts one on our faces too. |
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Sep 19, 2011 |
Koko's Favorite Doll has a New Hat |
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Maria Tsacle, who works at The Janet Pomeroy Center in San Francisco, loves to crochet hats. When she learned that red is Koko's favorite color, Maria decided to make a special red hat as a birthday present for Koko. Maria plans to make more red hats and donate a portion of the proceeds to The Gorilla Foundation.
Above Koko cuddles her WaterBaby doll who’s wearing the new red hat. And below you can see a clearer picture of how cute WaterBaby is with her new hat. We would like to thank Maria for making Koko very happy as a pretend surrogate mom.
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Sep 5, 2011 |
Ndume Sights Land |
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Koko’s companion Ndume loves his boat and is very fond of sunbathing there or sitting in it while visiting with caregivers. He likes putting blankets in it and relaxing.
Interestingly, Ndume never lays on the ground. He always lays on a blanket, or sits on a chair or enrichment piece. Sometimes, when it’s warm or dry outside, he'll sit on the ground, but when it comes to laying down it is always either on a blanket or this boat.
Not many silverbacks have their own boat, but Ndume looks like he belongs at the helm.
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Aug 25, 2011 |
Koko and Lamb Chop (Puppet) |
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This is the Lamb Chop hand puppet that Shari Lewis gave to Koko when she came for a visit years ago. It’s one of Koko’s favorite puppets (along with her alligator puppets) and she loves to put it on and play with it — or play along when the Caregivers are putting on a puppet show. |
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