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Koko, the gorilla that inspired Amy from "Congo" and her kittens

Browsing the Internet we found these cute photographs of a gorilla cradling a kitten .We continued investigating and found out that she was Koko the amazing gorilla that inspired Amy from the movie Congo and that his relationship with the cats was very, very special.Koko died on June 21, 2018.

Koko, the gorilla who I inspire Amy from Congo and her kittens

Koko was not born in Africa as the protagonist of the movie, but in San Francisco (California) in 1971 .Her real name was "Hanabi Ko" which in Japanese means "daughter of fireworks" since she was born on July 4.She was adopted and trained by scientists at Stanford University when she counted 1 year old.Her primary caregiver was Dr. Francine Patterson .The purpose of her training was to get to communicate with her through her sign language .Koko exceeded expectations.He was able to communicate with more than 1,000 signs and understood 2,000 words in English .In this YouTube video you can see one of his conversations.

Regarding his personal life, Koko was provided with a couple , a gorilla named Michael , who learned more than 600 words but they looked like brothers and among them never lit the "flame of love" .Michael's caretakers thought they interpreted by their signs that he remembered the death of his mother in Africa at the hands of some sneaky when It was a baby.On the death of Michael, in 2000, Koko tried to find another couple.He was taught several photos and videos of gorillas and chose one called Ndume .But there was no luck either.Conversation with his caregiver, he said that did not want to have children with the and to mention it I use words like "bad" and "toilet". However, it is important to mention that there are critical opinions about research and the interpretations that scientists make about what «Koko said».

Koko, the gorilla that inspired Amy from

Koko's favorite book was a story in which the protagonists were kittens .In 1983, as a Christmas gift he asked for a cat.They gave him a stuffed animal, but he was sad and did not play with him.«The Gorilla Founda tion », for his next birthday they gave him a choice between the kittens of an abandoned litter and chose a male whom I call« All ball ».Koko turned his whole affection but unfortunately one day he left of the facilities, suffered an accident and died .Koko upon being informed of the event, with sign language, pronounced the words "cry", "bad", "sad" and "dinner gathered" many times.

Koko, the gorilla that inspired Amy from

The following year they let select two other kittens whom I call « Lipstick »and« Smoky », as one of the cats in his story.I call his next two feline friends Miss Black and Miss Gray. Koko poured all her affections into her kittens and looked after them like a mother.If you want to know more about this gorilla , deceased in 2018, and see more imag enes and videos, here is a link to his page, which also announced his death.

Koko, the gorilla that inspired Amy from

What do you think of Koko's story? Do you think that gorillas, due to their proximity to human beings, deserve a different treatment than they receive?

If you have been interested in this story, you may want to read the post: The DICKIN medal: the Victoria Cross to courage of the animals

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