Koko and Penny Patterson - Search Videos

In 1971, Penny Patterson began teaching sign language to a gorilla named Koko, unaware that this relationship would define both their lives. More than 40 years later, the now-famous Koko continues to redraw the line between people and animals. See Koko - The Gorilla Who Talks, Wednesday at 8/7 pm on KET. | KET - Kentucky Educational Television

In 1971, Penny Patterson began teaching sign language to a gorilla named Koko, unaware that this relationship would define both their lives. More than 40 years later, the now-famous Koko continues to redraw the line between people and animals. See Koko - The Gorilla Who Talks, Wednesday at 8/7 pm on KET. | KET - Kentucky Educational Television

718 viewsJul 30, 2016

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Koko and Penny's Book Club... In this footage, Koko and Penny are looking through one of Koko’s favorite books. Koko loved to look at books, often naming what she saw, pointing out a detail or sharing a thought. Engaging in books often resulted in interesting discussions and provided a great opportunity for Koko to learn new signs. | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

Koko and Penny's Book Club... In this footage, Koko and Penny are looking through one of Koko’s favorite books. Koko loved to look at books, often naming what she saw, pointing out a detail or sharing a thought. Engaging in books often resulted in interesting discussions and provided a great opportunity for Koko to learn new signs. | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

1.6K viewsAug 21, 2024

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Penny brings 2-year-old Koko outside to engage in language and sensory learning, but Koko is bursting with energy and eager to run! | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

Penny brings 2-year-old Koko outside to engage in language and sensory learning, but Koko is bursting with energy and eager to run! | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

42.8K views10 months ago

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KOKO & PENNY READ "KOKO'S KITTEN" — PART 1: THE BOOK In this video from KokoArc, it’s 1988 and Koko is very eager to look at the book “Koko’s Kitten." This book was first released in 1985 by Scholastic. Koko looks at some of the photos with Penny and signs about them. She then takes the book to higher ground to examine it on her own — an expression of her autonomy. She also demonstrates her creativity and enthusiasm by using some signs simultaneously — like “Gorilla-Animal” and “Book-Hurry." Kok

KOKO & PENNY READ "KOKO'S KITTEN" — PART 1: THE BOOK In this video from KokoArc, it’s 1988 and Koko is very eager to look at the book “Koko’s Kitten." This book was first released in 1985 by Scholastic. Koko looks at some of the photos with Penny and signs about them. She then takes the book to higher ground to examine it on her own — an expression of her autonomy. She also demonstrates her creativity and enthusiasm by using some signs simultaneously — like “Gorilla-Animal” and “Book-Hurry." Kok

2.9K viewsFeb 23, 2023

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Joyful Koko... Penny and Koko had a close bond, similar to that of a mother and child. Much of Project Koko's research was conducted naturally through their joyful playtime interactions — which informed and enabled 5 decades of interspecies communication and love. (KokoArc Video 683, Clips 5, 6 and 7) | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

Joyful Koko... Penny and Koko had a close bond, similar to that of a mother and child. Much of Project Koko's research was conducted naturally through their joyful playtime interactions — which informed and enabled 5 decades of interspecies communication and love. (KokoArc Video 683, Clips 5, 6 and 7) | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

59.7K viewsMay 3, 2024

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Hi this is Penny Patterson, president of The Gorilla Foundation. Please take a moment to watch our #WorldGorillaDay video and then please consider making a donation ( at koko.org/donate ) to support the development of the KokoApp, which has been designed to bring Koko and interspecies communication to an even wider global audience, for the benefit of both her (critically endangered) species and ours ... Thank you! | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

Hi this is Penny Patterson, president of The Gorilla Foundation. Please take a moment to watch our #WorldGorillaDay video and then please consider making a donation ( at koko.org/donate ) to support the development of the KokoApp, which has been designed to bring Koko and interspecies communication to an even wider global audience, for the benefit of both her (critically endangered) species and ours ... Thank you! | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

2.2K viewsSep 24, 2021

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Koko was a gorilla born in 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo. She lived in California with Dr. Penny Patterson and learned over 1,000 signs. #animals #facts | StoryTime

3.6M viewsApr 11, 2025

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Koko the gorilla dies: 'She taught me so much,' trainer says

goodmorningamerica.com

Project Koko: How it All Began (SF Zoo, 1972) ... Koko nearly died as an infant at the San Francisco Zoo. She became very sick and needed round the clock care to nurse her back to health. Koko eventually recovered and was living in the nursery at the San Francisco Zoo when she began participating in a language study with Penny Patterson, a student at Stanford working toward her Ph.D. at the time. Penny would spend time with Koko every day. In the mornings, before the zoo opened to the public, Pe

2.7K viewsOct 2, 2022

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Watch the conversation with world-renowned gorilla experts Ian Redmond and Penny Patterson on World Gorilla Day, inspired by Koko. | Koko & The Gorilla Foundation

4.1K viewsSep 25, 2020

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Koko, the gorilla who learned sign language, dies at 46

Koko, born in 1971, was a western lowland gorilla who became famous for communicating through a modified form of American Sign Language. Taught by Dr. Penny Patterson, she learned over 1,000 signs and understood thousands of spoken words, showing remarkable emotional intelligence. Koko died peacefully in her sleep on June 19, 2018, at age 46. A widely shared video of her signing a message about protecting nature was later clarified as a scripted awareness video, not her literal last words but it

145.2K views3 months ago

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This is The Only Gorilla to Grieve a Human #history #facts

4.4K views1 week ago

YouTubeMORGAR | Human History

Koko the Gorilla

13 views2 months ago

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After 46 Years, 'Love' Was Her Final Sign ❤️

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KokoNut 2026

1.3K views4 months ago

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True Story: The 250lb Gorilla Who Adopted A Kitten & Shocked Science

339 views3 weeks ago

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NullFather on Instagram: "Koko was a western lowland gorilla known for communicating through a modified form of American Sign Language. Taught by Dr. Penny Patterson, she learned over 1,000 signs and understood thousands of spoken words. This clip is widely circulated as Koko’s final message before her death in 2018. It continues to be referenced in discussions about animal intelligence and emotion. #KokoTheGorilla #AnimalIntelligence #GreatApes #AnimalCommunication #nullfather"

1.6K views3 months ago

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Koko matches Penny’s movements. The “hat” moment adds a playful twist as Penny places a piece of paper on her head and signs

9K views3 months ago

TikTokthegorillafoundation

Did You Know on Instagram: "Koko was a western lowland gorilla born in 1971 who learned to communicate using sign language. Taught by Dr. Penny Patterson, she mastered over a thousand signs and understood thousands of spoken words. Her gentle personality and emotional depth challenged how humans view animal intelligence and empathy."

2.1K views3 months ago

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samachar on Instagram: "Koko, born in 1971, was a western lowland gorilla who became famous for communicating through a modified form of American Sign Language. Taught by Dr. Penny Patterson, she learned over 1,000 signs and understood thousands of spoken words, showing remarkable emotional intelligence. Koko died peacefully in her sleep on June 19, 2018, at age 46. A widely shared video of her signing a message about protecting nature was later clarified as a scripted awareness video, not her l

21.1K views3 months ago

Instagramnaws_hindi_english

Mystery 💠 on Instagram: "Koko, born in 1971, was a western lowland gorilla who amazed the world by communicating through a modified form of American Sign Language. Taught by Dr. Penny Patterson, she learned over 1,000 signs and showed deep emotional intelligence. Koko passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 19, 2018, at age 46. A viral video often shared as her “last message” about protecting nature was later clarified as a scripted awareness video—not her literal final words. Still, it ref

8.5K views3 months ago

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History Photographed on Instagram: "Koko was a female western lowland gorilla renowned for her ability to communicate with humans using a modified version of American Sign Language (ASL). ⁠ ⁠ Her linguistic abilities and emotional capacity were studied for over four decades by animal psychologist Francine "Penny" Patterson and are widely celebrated, though they have also been a subject of scientific debate.⁠ ⁠ Regardless of the scientific debate, Koko had a major cultural impact. ⁠ ⁠ She challen

945.3K views7 months ago

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Intro to Koko & the Gorilla Foundation

581.4K viewsSep 8, 2009

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Koko Reads Animalia

560.3K viewsAug 4, 2009

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Koko's Kitten: A Read Aloud Reading Lesson

48.9K viewsJun 21, 2014

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Koko's Tribute to Robin Williams

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Koko Loves: Conversations with a Signing Gorilla

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