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 melanin, which is why Snowflake had white fur and pale skin. Koko leans in and studies the picture closely, signs “Polite gorilla Koko-love,” telling Penny she loves Snowflake, and several times reaches out to touch it.
Koko and Snowflake never met in person, but Koko had known of him since they were both young. In National Geographic’s October 1978 cover story, Dr. Patterson described showing young Koko a photo of Snowflake resisting a bath; Koko, who disliked baths herself, pointed to the picture and signed “Me cry there.” More than twenty years later, Koko’s close attention to the photo shows a lasting interest in Snowflake.
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