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Koko – A Talking Gorilla [1978 Documentary]
Source: DrUliJr
Koko is a female gorilla that learned to use American sign language. She was taught in the 1970′s by researcher Penny Patterson. Shattering previously held conceptions of stereotypes of primates, this story is about a gorilla who learned to communicate with a human. Unfortunately the researcher was, to some extent, abusive – and would hit Koko from time to time, as this video shows at 1:06:25.
Koko learned to communicate more than basic words for basic needs, and has found ways to use language to show her affection, sense of humor, playfulness, love: a whole range of emotions challenging us to acknowledge that we have underestimated the depth of feelings and intelligence of animals.
Share this video far and wide, because if we can understand that this one animal shares so much with us humans, then we can begin to turn around our civilization’s legacy of limited beliefs and disrespect toward animals, and go toward a humane and enlightened way to share this planet with them.
Source: http://www.earth-heal.com/videos/viewvideo/3706/koko-a-talking-gorilla-1978-documentary.html
