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The Gorilla Foundation

January 01, 1970

The Gorilla Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in 1976 by Francine Patterson and Ronald Cohn[1][2] with Barbara F. Hiller.[3]

It was created in order to purchase a female western lowland gorilla named Koko from the San Francisco Zoo. Patterson had been teaching Koko American Sign Language since 1972, under custody of the zoo. In 1974, Patterson moved the project from a trailer at the zoo to a new compound at Stanford University, yet there was a possibility that Koko would need to be returned to the zoo, so Patterson raised money to buy and keep her. After the purchase, the foundation continued to support Patterson's research as she worked with Koko, in order to research language acquisition by non-human animals.

Besides Koko, the foundation also kept two male gorillas: Michael from 1976 until his death in 2000, and Ndume from 1991 until his return to the Cincinnati Zoo in 2019. Koko died in 2018, and after her death followed by the transfer of Ndume, the foundation no longer had any gorillas on which to conduct research.

Beginning edit

Patterson had worked with Koko since 1972,[4] when she began teaching the then 1-year-old gorilla American Sign Language (ASL). Patterson planned to continue her scientific experiment designed to determine whether, if it were raised using sign language, a gorilla would learn to use language.

Patterson fed and cared for Koko as she would her own child, and the pair formed a mother/child emotional bond.[5] Koko was first moved from the San Francisco Children's Zoo to a private trailer on the zoo in 1973, and then moved to a campus at Stanford University in 1974. After purchasing Koko, the foundation moved her into a trailer near Patterson's home in Woodside, California.[6] In 1976, The Gorilla Foundation acquired Michael, a gorilla born in Cameroon who was allegedly orphaned after his parents were killed for meat, as a potential language-using mate for Koko.[7]

Activities edit

Patterson and her assistants used simultaneous spoken English and ASL when speaking with the gorillas. Patterson has published several papers claiming that Koko has developed a vocabulary of 1000 to 2000 words and that Koko has invented words and compound words. Under Patterson's criterion for acquisition of a language term, which must be "recorded by two independent observers and be used spontaneously and appropriately on at least half the days of a given month", Koko had learned 264 signs in the first five and a half years of training.

Beginning in the 1990s, the Foundation tried to raise money to move their operation from its sole location in Woodside, California, to a new ape preserve in Maui.[8] They hoped that Koko would successfully mate with her partner, Ndume, who had arrived in 1991, and spontaneously teach their offspring to use sign language.[4][9] Land was leased in Maui in 1993, but in 2010 The Gorilla Foundation decided that the lease was not secure enough to start work, and decided to focus on the Woodside site instead.[10]

In 2018 Koko died, activating a section of Ndume's loan agreement with the Cincinnati Zoo, which said that Ndume would be placed in an "Association of Zoos and Aquariums" institution after Koko's death.[11] Patterson tried to prevent the move, citing concerns about Ndume's health, which led to a lawsuit resulting in Ndume's removal in June 2019.[12][13]

According to the Foundation's website, Patterson and other employees have partnered with conservation organizations including International Fund for Animal Welfare and Pan African Conservation Education. The Gorilla Foundation has attempted education projects to decrease the consumption of bushmeat.[14]

Criticism edit

During a question-and-answer period, in response to a question as to whether her findings would ever be scientifically proven by duplicating them in an independent experiment, Patterson stated that she believes it would not be ethical to do it again because she believes that it is not right to keep such animals in such unnatural circumstances.[15]

Patterson was accused of sexual discrimination in 2005 by reportedly expecting female volunteers to show their breasts to Koko. This led to a lawsuit, during which said volunteers were fired.[16]

Whether the gorillas actually learned language is debated.[17] Some researchers and linguists have said that most of the signs they used were used chaotically in order to meet a goal, without regard for sentence structure, making them not true language. However, the differences between sign languages and spoken languages have been used to help understand the gorillas' language acquisition, and Koko has been described as using language in advanced ways, such as symbolic descriptions, lying, and making jokes.[18]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "A Tribute to Ronald H. Cohn (1943-2022)". The Gorilla Foundation. September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "Young Koko Explores the San Francisco Zoo".
  3. ^ Newsweek website, Who was Koko? Sign-Language Gorilla Dead at 46, article by Katherine Hignett dated June 21, 2018
  4. ^ a b Spilky, Scott (Fall 2003). . University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 2004-06-22. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  5. ^ http://www.koko.org/world/kokoflix.php?date=2008-01-25 ...but what I came to realize is that there was an obligation, and a bond that I could not ignore. And there was an emotional bond had been formed, just like between a mother and a child." at about 00:30 in. - Patterson
  6. ^ Patterson, Francine (1981). The education of Koko. Linden, Eugene. (1st Owl book ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. pp. 37, 43, 65. ISBN 0030635519. OCLC 13323666.
  7. ^ "Gorillas – The Gorilla Foundation". Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  8. ^ "CHECK IT OUT: Gorilla project under redesign". The Maui News. 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  9. ^ . The Gorilla Foundation. Archived from the original on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  10. ^ "History and Milestones". The Gorilla Foundation. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
  11. ^ "Zoo files lawsuit to get gorilla back in Cincy". WCPO. 2018-10-26. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  12. ^ Weingartner, Tana. "Zoo's Fight Over Gorilla Ndume's Return To Cincinnati Continues". www.wvxu.org. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  13. ^ "Cincinnati Zoo Welcomes Silverback Gorilla Ndume Back Home". Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden®. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  14. ^ "Conservation Partners – The Gorilla Foundation". Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  15. ^ ResearchChannel (2008-02-21), Koko Loves: Conversations with a Signing Gorilla, archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2019-07-03
  16. ^ Yollin, Patricia; Writer, Chronicle Staff (2005-02-18). "San Mateo County / Gorilla Foundation rocked by breast display lawsuit / Former employees say they were told to expose chests". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  17. ^ "Koko's death rekindles language debate". 2018-06-22. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  18. ^ Patterson, Francine G.P.; Cohn, Ronald H. (August 1990). "Language acquisition by a lowland gorilla: Koko's first ten years of vocabulary development". WORD. 41 (2): 97–143. doi:10.1080/00437956.1990.11435816. ISSN 0043-7956.

External links edit

  • The Gorilla Foundation official site

January 01, 1970
gorilla, foundation, profit, organization, founded, 1976, francine, patterson, ronald, cohn, with, barbara, hiller, created, order, purchase, female, western, lowland, gorilla, named, koko, from, francisco, patterson, been, teaching, koko, american, sign, lang. The Gorilla Foundation is a non profit organization founded in 1976 by Francine Patterson and Ronald Cohn 1 2 with Barbara F Hiller 3 It was created in order to purchase a female western lowland gorilla named Koko from the San Francisco Zoo Patterson had been teaching Koko American Sign Language since 1972 under custody of the zoo In 1974 Patterson moved the project from a trailer at the zoo to a new compound at Stanford University yet there was a possibility that Koko would need to be returned to the zoo so Patterson raised money to buy and keep her After the purchase the foundation continued to support Patterson s research as she worked with Koko in order to research language acquisition by non human animals Besides Koko the foundation also kept two male gorillas Michael from 1976 until his death in 2000 and Ndume from 1991 until his return to the Cincinnati Zoo in 2019 Koko died in 2018 and after her death followed by the transfer of Ndume the foundation no longer had any gorillas on which to conduct research Contents 1 Beginning 2 Activities 3 Criticism 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBeginning editPatterson had worked with Koko since 1972 4 when she began teaching the then 1 year old gorilla American Sign Language ASL Patterson planned to continue her scientific experiment designed to determine whether if it were raised using sign language a gorilla would learn to use language Patterson fed and cared for Koko as she would her own child and the pair formed a mother child emotional bond 5 Koko was first moved from the San Francisco Children s Zoo to a private trailer on the zoo in 1973 and then moved to a campus at Stanford University in 1974 After purchasing Koko the foundation moved her into a trailer near Patterson s home in Woodside California 6 In 1976 The Gorilla Foundation acquired Michael a gorilla born in Cameroon who was allegedly orphaned after his parents were killed for meat as a potential language using mate for Koko 7 Activities editPatterson and her assistants used simultaneous spoken English and ASL when speaking with the gorillas Patterson has published several papers claiming that Koko has developed a vocabulary of 1000 to 2000 words and that Koko has invented words and compound words Under Patterson s criterion for acquisition of a language term which must be recorded by two independent observers and be used spontaneously and appropriately on at least half the days of a given month Koko had learned 264 signs in the first five and a half years of training Beginning in the 1990s the Foundation tried to raise money to move their operation from its sole location in Woodside California to a new ape preserve in Maui 8 They hoped that Koko would successfully mate with her partner Ndume who had arrived in 1991 and spontaneously teach their offspring to use sign language 4 9 Land was leased in Maui in 1993 but in 2010 The Gorilla Foundation decided that the lease was not secure enough to start work and decided to focus on the Woodside site instead 10 In 2018 Koko died activating a section of Ndume s loan agreement with the Cincinnati Zoo which said that Ndume would be placed in an Association of Zoos and Aquariums institution after Koko s death 11 Patterson tried to prevent the move citing concerns about Ndume s health which led to a lawsuit resulting in Ndume s removal in June 2019 12 13 According to the Foundation s website Patterson and other employees have partnered with conservation organizations including International Fund for Animal Welfare and Pan African Conservation Education The Gorilla Foundation has attempted education projects to decrease the consumption of bushmeat 14 Criticism editDuring a question and answer period in response to a question as to whether her findings would ever be scientifically proven by duplicating them in an independent experiment Patterson stated that she believes it would not be ethical to do it again because she believes that it is not right to keep such animals in such unnatural circumstances 15 Patterson was accused of sexual discrimination in 2005 by reportedly expecting female volunteers to show their breasts to Koko This led to a lawsuit during which said volunteers were fired 16 Whether the gorillas actually learned language is debated 17 Some researchers and linguists have said that most of the signs they used were used chaotically in order to meet a goal without regard for sentence structure making them not true language However the differences between sign languages and spoken languages have been used to help understand the gorillas language acquisition and Koko has been described as using language in advanced ways such as symbolic descriptions lying and making jokes 18 See also editGorilla Great ape language Koko gorilla Michael gorilla Ndume Koko A Talking Gorilla 1978 documentary References edit A Tribute to Ronald H Cohn 1943 2022 The Gorilla Foundation September 21 2022 Retrieved September 22 2022 Young Koko Explores the San Francisco Zoo Newsweek website Who was Koko Sign Language Gorilla Dead at 46 article by Katherine Hignett dated June 21 2018 a b Spilky Scott Fall 2003 Alumni spotlight the Caretaker University of Illinois Champaign Urbana College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Archived from the original on 2004 06 22 Retrieved 2009 04 28 http www koko org world kokoflix php date 2008 01 25 but what I came to realize is that there was an obligation and a bond that I could not ignore And there was an emotional bond had been formed just like between a mother and a child at about 00 30 in Patterson Patterson Francine 1981 The education of Koko Linden Eugene 1st Owl book ed New York Holt Rinehart and Winston pp 37 43 65 ISBN 0030635519 OCLC 13323666 Gorillas The Gorilla Foundation Retrieved 2019 07 03 CHECK IT OUT Gorilla project under redesign The Maui News 2007 10 01 Retrieved 2009 04 28 About The Gorilla Foundation The Gorilla Foundation Archived from the original on 2009 04 21 Retrieved 2009 04 28 History and Milestones The Gorilla Foundation Retrieved 2023 12 12 Zoo files lawsuit to get gorilla back in Cincy WCPO 2018 10 26 Retrieved 2019 07 03 Weingartner Tana Zoo s Fight Over Gorilla Ndume s Return To Cincinnati Continues www wvxu org Retrieved 2019 07 03 Cincinnati Zoo Welcomes Silverback Gorilla Ndume Back Home Cincinnati Zoo amp Botanical Garden Retrieved 2019 07 03 Conservation Partners The Gorilla Foundation Retrieved 2019 07 03 ResearchChannel 2008 02 21 Koko Loves Conversations with a Signing Gorilla archived from the original on 2021 12 21 retrieved 2019 07 03 Yollin Patricia Writer Chronicle Staff 2005 02 18 San Mateo County Gorilla Foundation rocked by breast display lawsuit Former employees say they were told to expose chests SFGate Retrieved 2019 07 04 Koko s death rekindles language debate 2018 06 22 Retrieved 2019 07 03 Patterson Francine G P Cohn Ronald H August 1990 Language acquisition by a lowland gorilla Koko s first ten years of vocabulary development WORD 41 2 97 143 doi 10 1080 00437956 1990 11435816 ISSN 0043 7956 External links editThe Gorilla Foundation official site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Gorilla Foundation amp oldid 1190480517, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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