Dear Friend,

This week’s video shows Koko in June 2004, exploring a stringed instrument — perhaps a lute — that I handed to her that day.

I love seeing the sheer variety of ways Koko investigates it.  She strums the strings with her fingers. She taps and knocks on the back of the instrument to hear the sound it makes.  At one point she even holds it up with her feet so she can drum with both fists, the sign for “gorilla.”

In her own way, she seems to be conducting a small experiment in sound.

There is also a tender moment near the end. Koko examines her finger after catching it on a string, gives it a quick kiss, and the goes right back to playing.

Researchers often describe this kind of multi-sensory engagement with a new object as part of great ape curiosity and problem-solving.

But what stays with me is something simpler: Koko meeting something new in the world, exploring it carefully, and discovering what her own actions could create.

With Koko love,

Penny Patterson
President, CEO and Founder
The Gorilla Foundation / koko.org

Conservation through Communication

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