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Dear Koko's Friend ,
Today is World Gorilla Day. As I remember Koko, I know she'd be thinkin of her species on this day. I think she would be concerned about Earth's gorillas and their environment. She'd want The Gorilla Foundation to share her legacy of empathy through communciation with future generations. And I know she'd want me to be honest about how much needs to be done before gorillas can feel safe coexisting with us on this planet.
We hope you enjoy the following content, prepared especially for this purpose:
Video Panel Discussion (via Zoom) on
The Status of Gorillas Worldwide
Zoom Panel Discussion featuring Ian Redmond and The Gorilla Foundation
On Sep. 23, 2020, gorilla conservationist Ian Redmond (bottom right), Dr. Christa Nunes, Gorilla Foudnation Associate Director of Research, Dr. Gary Stanley, Gorilla Foundation COO, and I, met (via Zoom) to discuss the current challenges facing gorillas, both in the wild and in captivity. You can send us your questions and comments by emailing [email protected].
Gorilla Foundation Presentation at the
2020 "Interspecies Conversations” Conference
Watch the 5-minute Video Presentation by Dr. Patterson
On July 18th, 2020, I gave a 5-minute video presentation, along with about 20 other interspecies communication presenters, to the first public Interspecies Conversations webinar, at interspecies.io. The online conference was organized by Vint Cerf (Google Fellow), Peter Gabriel (Musician/Composer), Neil Gershenfeld (MIT Professor) and Diana Reiss (Dolphin Communication Researcher), and was sponsored the Coller Foundation and Google. It featured presentations by a variety of researchers breaking the language barriers between humans and a number of other intelligent species.
The goal is to develop a common internet-based framework that will accelerate our understanding of other species, and facilitate their conservation and humane care in the process.
The Gorilla Foundation Partners with
The Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation
 The Tzu Chi ("compassion relief") Foundation is an international humanitarian organization with mission to relieve the suffering of those in need while creating a better world for all through compassion, love and hope.
Their mission resonates with ours, and with Koko's role as a Voice of Nature. Thus, we agreed (via a formal Memo of Understanding) to partner on a 5-year joint mission to help humans coexist with Nature, with a focus on engaging kids at an early age.
In addition to developing conservation materials for kids worldwide, the Tzu Chi Foundation recently developed a new face mask with a picture of Koko holding the "Earth" and signing "thumbs up" with the caption "Coexist with the Earth." These washable masks have the added benefit of each being produced from 2 recyclable plastic bottles. Stay tuned and we will email you when these Koko-TzuChi masks become available from The Gorilla Foundation.
Kids4Koko Learn to Sign, Paint, Read
and Save Gorillas
Meet Chaz, Mackenzie and Sam, who are among the first Kids4Koko
Kids4Koko is a new program launched by The Gorilla Foundation at koko.org/kids4koko (or via kids4koko.org). It enables kids (of all ages) to learn sign language directly from Koko, through video clips that illustrate the differences between her signs and conventional ASL (which are often very minor).
KIds4Koko also helps kids learn to paint, like gorillas Koko and Michael, who produced both representational and abstract paintings, expressing their world and emotions.
Many of our Koko-inspired books can also be found on Kids4Koko, as eBooks, including Koko's Kitten, Michael's Dream, and the new children's book by Julie Brinckloe, A Wish for Koko, which is both a tribute to Koko's life and an optimistic vision of her future legacy.
Finally, Kids4Koko is a resource for kids (and adults) who want to help gorillas survive and thrive, and be able to continue communicating with us for generations to come. Please visit Kids4Koko often, as we are adding new features every month and would love to add your voice to Koko's Voice of Nature — and also learn from your feedback how to make it a global resource for conservation through communication.
I only wish Koko could be with us on this (and every) World Gorilla Day, but I know she is with us in spirit, and I think she would approve of how hard we're working to make a difference for her species and our shared Natural World.
With "Koko-Love" to all,
Penny Patterson, Ph.D.
President & Director of Research
The Gorilla Foundation / Koko.org
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