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Feb 26, 2010 |
Koko enjoys a nice lawn chair |
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Remember when you used to be able to sit comfortably in a chair the way Koko is sitting here? While Koko seems childlike at times, she can also be wise beyond her years (and our expectations for other animals) at other times. She’s like a one-person Discovery Channel that’s always turned on — to life!
Posted by Lauren Jacobs. |
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Feb 11, 2010 |
Koko Selects a Video |
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One of Koko's favorite activities is watching a good movie. And her favorite movies include Pretty Woman, Maid in Manhattan, and Big. She's very fond of romantic comedies, and will not watch anything with violence, sex or “impolite” language.
Oh, and she now prefers DVDs orver VHS, and you can see a list of DVDs that we think she'd be interested in on Koko’s WishList.
Posted by LJ. |
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Jan 27, 2010 |
Koko is one with nature |
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Koko sets her sights on the trees on a beautiful Northern California day. How fortunate we are to be hosting a true ambassador for an endangered species!
Posted by LJ. |
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Jan 20, 2010 |
Koko loves a good backscratch |
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Koko assumes a blissfully content look as Penny scratches her back. Grooming is an important part of great ape social interaction, and if you don’t think it’s in our genes too, ask someone to give you a back scratch (or vice versa) and feel the endorphins flow. A simple way to maintain good physical and mental health. Thanks for reminding us, Koko.
Posted by LJ. |
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Jan 19, 2010 |
Koko's Inspired Meals |
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This is one of Koko's dinner platters, prepared by an inspired volunteer. It includes a snap-pea dragon fly, a 3-headed chard roll-up, a Mr. Potato Head nut-butter sandwich, a multi-colored garden rose (which she always eats first), an organic Chioggia beet, a peg-leg sweet potato (Mr. Potato Head's?), and an apple.
Koko and Ndume often enjoy meals like this, thanks to the imagination and artistry of our wonderful produce volunteers.
Posted by LJ. |
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Jan 12, 2010 |
Koko cradles visiting kitten like a baby |
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Koko has always been very affectionate toward kittens (from All Ball to Smokey to Lips Lipstick to Moe) and still entertains them as guests from time to time (the one in her arms here is a visitor from the San Francisco Peninsula Humane Society). However, Koko's deeper desire is to have or adopt a baby. We're working on Koko's baby quest with as much vigor as the new Maui Ape Preserve (MAP). In fact the 2 goals are interconnected, as the sizable tropical sanctuary will be an excellent place to raise a baby gorilla, as well as providing a safe natural habitat for other gorillas in need of a home.
Posted by LJ. |
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Jan 11, 2010 |
A time to paint and a time to eat ... |
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Koko enjoys a crunchy ear of corn, while several other crunchy vegetables wait in the wings of her lunch tray. This girl knows how to eat. (And thankfully her wonderful caregivers comply.)
Posted by Lauren Jacob |
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Jan 10, 2010 |
What do you think Koko has created here? |
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Koko continues to express herself through drawing and painting. Here's one that she recently completed. Can you guess what Koko was thinking (or feeling) when she painted this? Keep in mind that Koko's paintings can be abstract, impressionistic or realistic (an example of each of these types is featured in her store).
Posted by Lauren Jacob. |
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Jan 9, 2010 |
Koko dreams of Maui |
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Koko is wearing 2 necklaces here — and signing NECKLACE. One "necklace" she created from an orange and white tote bag made from recycled grocery bags (which Penny brought home from her presentation at the 2009 meeting of the American Society of Primatology). The other necklace is a green lei, which Penny gave Koko after a visit to the Maui Ape Preserve (MAP) site.
Posted by Lauren Jacob |
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Jan 6, 2010 |
Koko doesn’t read while eating . . . |
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Koko is shown here having a relaxing dinner, eating an apple, while ignoring a magazine that lies directly in front of her. She isn’t ignoring the magazine because she’s not interested or can’t “read” – on the contrary, Koko loves to read, especially colorfully illustrated texts. Koko is simply demonstrating “one-pointed attention” — enjoying her meal so thoroughly that everything else is filtered out. In this age of perilous multi-tasking (where the quality of performance on each task is divided by the number of tasks, we can learn a lot from Koko here.
Posted by Lauren Jacob. |
