Dear Friend,

As we were looking through our newly digitized archival footage (KokoArc), we found some wonderful clips of gorillas Koko and Michael enjoying their large outdoor yard — the space, the foliage, the play equipment, the weather and each other — and I thought it would be nice to share some of it with you.

The gorillas' environment gives context to the kinds of things they communicate about. A large natural habitat, monitored by loving caregivers, without the stress of unfamiliar visitors, creates a comfort level that makes interspecies communication fun and even enlightening ...

Video Summary:
"KOKO & MICHAEL EXPLORE THE OUTDOORS"

In the above video, filmed between 1988-1991, Koko and her companion Michael (who was raised with Koko from the age of 3) spend time together in their large outdoor habitat, located within a densely forested area in the Santa Cruz mountains. The gorillas spent many hours there every day.

The large (quarter-acre) yard was designed for the gorillas to be able to use all of the space — all 3 dimensions — by climbing the mesh, playground equipment and trees within. In the video, in addition to climbing,

Michael uses the branches of a cut tree to build a nest around himself which free-living gorillas do in their native habitats. The site was built on a former orchard, and contains lots of edible foliage such as persimmon, plum and apple.

Notice that I hand Michael some persimmon leaves fresh from the trees.

Over the years, we added more features to the gorillas' outdoor space, such as shelves, platforms, cargo nets, and fire-hose curtains, which provided both enrichment and privacy for the gorillas. Koko had a favorite shelf, where she would often enjoy her breakfast, and another shelf with a nice forest/ocean view.

Thus, Koko and Michael were able to enjoy lots of quiet time outside in a natural setting, with caregivers nearby, available to provide additional food, enrichment or conversation.

Signs:
00:01:02 Koko signs “This” to the clip holding up the cargo net
00:01:13 Koko signs “Lip” (her sign for a female) to a caregiver on the ground outside the mesh that she then climbs down to visit.

Video Credits

The above KokoArc video features 4-minutes of related clips from 2 full-length videos, filmed in 1988 and 1991, when Koko was 17 and 20 years old, respectively:

— Video #567: 1988; opening scenes in the large yard
— Video #684: Michael nesting, and Michael and Koko climbing

Video 567 was filmed by me, and Video 684 was filmed by Dr. Ronald Cohn, TGF's Chief Documentarian and co-founder.

The musical background is an original piece by the amazing guitarist, Matteo Mancuso.

What's Next?

Stay tuned for more KokoArc videos from all stages of gorillas Koko, Michael and Ndume's lives, featuring interspecies communication, their environment, their behaviors, and their relationships with each other and their caregivers.

Only by increasing our understanding of gorillas can we motivate improved conditions for them in captivity and establish the empathy needed to protect them from extinction in Africa.

Thanks for joining us on our exciting and enlightening journey made possible by interspecies communication, and inspired by Koko!

Sincerely,

The Gorilla Foundation     PO Box 620530,  Woodside, CA  94062
1-800-ME-GO-APE     [email protected]
The Gorilla Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit
Federal Tax ID: 942.38.6151