Mission


The Gorilla Foundation is best known for conducting the longest interspecies communication study in history (almost 5 decades) and the only one involving gorillas: Project Koko.  Our mission, Conservation through Communication applies the results and lessons of interspecies communication (with gorillas Koko, Michael and Ndume) to save gorillas from extinction in the wild, dramatically improve their care in captivity, and continue our exciting dialogue with Nature.  Everyone can learn to sign, and all gorillas are Kokos, and these 2 realizations make saving the great apes both a worthwhile and highly reachable goal. Please join us and expedite the process!

Programs

Who is Koko?
Research
KokoArc
Digitizing and analyzing 5 decades of unique interspecies communication data for the benefit of captive and free-living great apes.
Education
KokoKids
KokoKids brings together students from all over the world to learn from Koko and become voices for Nature.
Empathy
KokoSigns
The Koko Signs app will enable everyone to learn sign language from Koko and help make communication with great apes ubiquitous.
Sanctuary
KokoCares
KokoCares is a program to design better ways to care for gorillas in zoos and sanctuaries, giving them both autonomy and language.

Progress

  • Designing The MaKoko Gorilla Sanctuary
    KokoCares
    On this Earth Day,  gorillas need more than our admiration — they need a safe and natural home. Koko helped the world see gorillas in a new way, as individuals with deep feelings, distinct […]
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  • Koko and Snowflake
    KokoConnects
    Penny holds up a photograph of Snowflake, the famous white gorilla of the Barcelona Zoo and the only albino gorilla ever documented. Albinism is a rare genetic condition that reduces the pigment […]
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  • Koko Guardians Monitor Cross River Gorillas
    KokoProtects
    Koko taught us that gorillas think, feel … and love … This inspired the empathy that led us to look in the forest for the rarest gorillas on Earth … Cross River Gorillas Only 300 remain of this […]
    Read More
logo Meet Koko
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Koko has given humanity the gift of “talking with the animals” for more than four decades now.

It’s time for other gorillas to
learn from Koko…

They can all be Voices for Nature!

All Gorillas are Kokos

Koko passed away in her sleep on June 18, 2018 just 2 weeks before her 47th birthday on July 4th. She lived a full and loving life, and has been mourned by millions of people around the world — a process that continues to this day.

Honoring Koko

5th grade teacher

“When we think of saving the Earth, we can't help but think of Koko!"

A 6-year old boy

“All gorillas are Kokos”

How you can help

The Gorilla Foundation’s efforts are made possible largely by support from individual donors, with some support from corporate and foundation grants and educational merchandise. The majority (74%) of these funds are allocated to program expenses — research, education, conservation, and gorilla care & wellness — while about 28% covers the necessary overhead expenses of management and fundraising.

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