Koko the gorilla received a special gift for her 44th birthday. The gorilla, famous for her knowledge of American Sign Language, was presented with a box of kittens and allowed to choose two as pets; the remaining cats were adopted into good homes. Koko received her first cat “All Ball” after signing that she wanted a cat, and being unsatisfied with a toy one, back in 1984.

Koko lives in at the Gorilla Foundation in Redwood City, California, with her trainer Francine Patterson. According to Patterson, Koko can understand 2,000 English words and communicates with her trainers using over 1,000 “Gorilla Sign Language” signs. When Koko learned that All Ball had died, she cried, and signed “Sleep cat.” You can find out more about this story on Amazon.

More info: koko.org | Facebook | Amazon

Koko the gorilla received a special gift for her 44th birthday

The gorilla, famous for knowing sign language, was given a box of kittens and allowed to choose two as pets

Koko signs the word “cat.”

Koko signs the word “baby.”

Koko signs: “Put on head.”

She always wanted a baby…

Now she has two kitten to love her!

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