Koko passed away in her sleep on June 18, 2018 just 2 weeks before her 47th birthday on July 4th. She lived a full and loving life, and has been mourned by millions of people around the world — a process that continues to this day.
She taught us so much about herself, her species, and about ourselves — how humans can be more humane. And the lessons we’ve learned from Koko must never be forgotten — primarily that the conservation of our fellow great ape species can be achieved through good communication — interspecies communication!
Please help us realize the full potential of Koko’s Legacy by supporting the above projects, and transmitting the lessons of “Project Koko” — the longest running interspecies communication study in history, and the only one involving gorillas — to ALL great apes, both captive and free-living. They all have both the capacity and the right to communicate with us, and if we listen to them, we can both improve their lives in captivity and save them from man-made extinction in the wild.
We have finally learned to “talk with the animals.” What will our children think of us if we forget how to continue the dialogue? The truth is that all gorillas are Kokos — scientists have observed gorillas using dozens of natural gestures — which means that any gorilla currently living in captivity, at a zoo or sanctuary, can become a gorilla ambassador (i.e., a spokesperson) like Koko, if we just give them the opportunity. And if we let gorillas be all they can be, our empathy for them will grow proportionately, and gorilla conservation will become an integral part of human conservation. And that’s why The Gorilla Foundation exists.
