Portrait of Ndume, Koko’s good friend

Closeup of Koko’s best gorilla friend, Ndume. It was originally expected that Koko and Ndume would become mates, when she first selected him via a “video dating” process. However, while they get along well, they have not mated, possibly due to the absence of a natural gorilla group structure—multiple females associated with the silverback male. Koko has communicated to us that she would welcome a small female support group — which could lead to the birth of a gorilla baby (her dearest wish).