Original subtitles

Here, let's change. Yes, there was a bird.

Let's change. We'll get a new one.

Oh, this is a good one, Koko.

This one shows nighttime.

Night, yes. Darkness.

Night. Look at that one.

You'll see it- what it looks like at night.

It's dark.

Koko is a gorilla.

- And what's this? - Ally is a chimpanzee.

A pipe. Very good. Okay.

What's this?

“Pipe“ what? What's this?

What is that?

“Pipe“ what?

“Pipe food.“

I guess pipe tobacco is sort of a pipe food, for pipes anyway.

Uh, they'll take signs -

separate signs in their vocabulary and recombine them in a novel fashion.

For example, calling a watermelon -

because they don't have the signs for “water“ or “melon“...

one chimp, Lucy, called it a “candy drink“ or “drink fruit“...

which means that they're not treating the signs as inviolate wholes...

or the messages as inviolate wholes...

but they're novelly recombining them.

Sign language and communication with other animals isn't really that new.

Robert Yerkes suggested in 1927 that we use sign language.

He was sure that if the, uh, chimpanzee...

had the, uh, vocal ability of the parrot linked with its own intellectual capacity...

he was sure the latter could talk and he was sure that...

it could be taught signs, uh, gestural language.

Keith and Cathy Hayes attempted to teach Vicki vocal speech.

She was a chimpanzee, and she learned “mama, ” "papa, ” "cu ” and "up.

Although she had a very, very heavy chimpanzee accent.

It was more like-

Were her four words.

But based on that, in other words, the failure to find something...

a lot of people came to the conclusion - a lot of scientists -

that language was beyond the capacity of the otherwise-intelligent ape.

Uh, the Gardner; were the first to attempt a gestural language.

They watched the Hayeses' film on Vicki and they found...

that they could understand her better with the sound off...

and that she was using gestures to communicate.

This is Washoe. Washoe has already earned a place...

in the history of modern science.

In 1966, when she was 10 months old...

she became the subject of an experiment...

conducted by a team of psychologists, Allen and Beatrix Gardner.

The results of this experiment upset many firmly held scientific beliefs.

Washoe is 72.

She has a vocabulary of about 200 words.

She lives with other chimpanzees on a man-made island...

near Norman, Oklahoma at the Institute for Primate Studies.

On this island, chimpanzees are being taught American Sign Language...

which was developed for and is used by the deaf

Roger Fouts was formerly chief assistant to Allen and Beatrix Gardner.

No one had ever attempted such experiments with gorillas.

They were thought to be too difficult to handle...

more dangerous and less intelligent than chimpanzees.

Welcome to the San Francisco Zoo.

This exhibit houses a unique and wonderful family group of gorillas.

For health and safety, please...

do not feed or throw anything into the exhibit.

Looking at you are the largest living primates, the lowland gorillas...

from the dense tropical forest of central west Africa.

Bwana, our largest gorilla, is a 17-year-old male.

Jackie is our 19-year-old mother gorilla...

and her newest offspring is Mkubwa.

This is the fourth gorilla birth for our zoo.

In 1971, Koko was the first.

This is Koko's mother.

Koko is available to us only because her parents, like many other gorillas...

were kidnapped from their native jungle.

Koko's grandparents were probably slaughtered.

Today, the only place where a gorilla is truly safe...

is within the concrete walls of a zoo.

In Africa, they are driven out of the equatorial forests...

by farmers and lumber companies.

Only a few thousand mountain gorillas are left.

Their only enemy is man.

Even though Koko was born in the San Francisco Zoo...

she is still an animal of the primeval forest, an exile.

...prefers to be known as just plain Lattimore.

Let's hear-

Koko lives in a suburb south of San Francisco.

This is what is called her cultural environment.

The names of these places - Redwood City, Palo Alto, Woodside -

serve as reminders that less than 100 years ago...

this area was covered by a huge forest.

These two redwoods have survived.

♪ Then it 's washed away again ♪

On the campus of Stanford University...

Penny Patterson, 28, a graduate student in psychology...

is teaching Koko sign language.

Okay. Now what?

Yes, that's the way.

American Sign Language is the language used by the deaf in North America.

It consists of a series of hand gestures...

which are used to convey words.

Pretty, happy.

Sad.

- Share? - Shave.

I?

- Sit, chair. - Sit.

- Sleep, bed. - Sleep.

Sleep? Uh-huh.

- Sorry. - Sorry.

- Sour. - Koko.

- Sour. - Sour.

Sponge.

No, do it right.

- Taste. - Taste.

Koko's current vocabulary is approximately 300 words.

These are the words she produces.

But she understands probably at least another 200-300 words...

and she has on occasion produced 500 different words at least once...

although not all of these have qualified by our strict criterion...

which is spontaneous and appropriate use on half the clays of a given month.

Koko, the time? Yes, time.

- Tongue. - Where's your tongue?

- That's right. - Toothbrush.

Uh-huh. Toothpaste.

1 %

- Up. - She knows.

- UP- [CW

- Up. - Right.

- Water. - Water.

“Apple. “ Apple.

Afraid.

Yes. Great gorilla.

- Great gorilla. - All.

You want all this candy? Koko, you're doing the sign next.

Here. All.

Koko, have all. Right. Okay.

- Sip - Sip

Sit, chair.

Sit. Sit.

Sleep, bed.

What you want?

Stop that. Be nice. Nice.

Um, Koko's progress was marked...

by a number of innovations on her part.

Very early in the study, she started signing simultaneously...

something that humans rarely do...

uh, except maybe in poetry or wit.

- And so she could sign something like - - For example?

- “Drink more“ - - Right. Right.

Or, uh, “food drink.“

She would do that.

Something that takes me - I have to think about doing...

she would just do spontaneously and very quickly.

- Km. - Kiss.

She's also done - done a number of other remarkable things.

She's invented names for- compound names for objects.

Uh, for instance, one day a friend...

was eating a cook-a sweet roll...

and gave her most of it because it was stale.

And for a second, she signed “cookie rock.“

Then, uh, she has also...

when she knew the signs for several items of jewelry and we showed her a ring...

she called it a “finger bracelet.“

- Taste. - Taste.

Thank you.

- Thirsty swallow. - [Gags 1

Thirsty?

- You wanna taste? - Fickle.

Tickle.

Koko has also done things...

or said things that seem to be lies.

When questioned about some form of misbehavior...

she can wiggle out of it verbally...

by saying, “Kate did it, “ or that she was doing something else.

For instance, one day she was - she'd stolen a stick from a drawer...

and was prying open a window screen with it.

I caught her in the act, grabbed it, signed, “What are you doing?“

She signed, “Smoke?

Water.

- Who. - Who.

Why?

Be nice. Be nice.

Tickle. Just a little one.

Okay. I'm finished now.

No, no more.

You're going so slow. Hurry.

Koko lives in a specially modified trailer.

Penny, who has no children, lives with a friend off campus.

She spends most of her time on Project Koko.

She has to be with Koko in the morning when she wakes up...

and at night when she goes to sleep.

The experiment began five years ago.

Penny hasn't had a vacation since.

Penny based her work on the Gardners' experiment...

but with one important difference:

We also use spoken English with Koko.

We usually simultaneously sign and speak to Koko...

and we have indications that she understands...

about as much spoken English as she does sign language.

I'm asking you a different question.

Where's your ear?

Right.

Okay.

Nothing. Where's your-

I didn't even ask. You told me.

Where's your foot?

Koko, where's your foot?

That's your belly button and that's your foot. Right.

Where's your tongue?

Where is your tongue? Hmm?

Can you show us your tongue?

There you go.

Yes, I saw it. And your, uh, stomach?

Right.

You're good. Are you good?

There's your nose, your eyes, your ears, your stomach, your foot...

your tongue and your lips.

Where's - Where are they?

Huh?

Where are your lips?

There's your lips.

Your eyes and nose, yes.

You're doing fine.

You're telling me many, many things about your body, right?

Can you sit up and talk about your body a little more, hmm?

What? We have something if you sit up.

Come on, let's - let's be good.

This is your body. Can you say “body“?

Good, but you need two hands to say “body?

Body. You have a nice body.

Mm-hmm. Pretty. Pretty, pretty.

Pretty hair. Yes.

There you go.

You want to share that fruit?

Thank you. I'll taste it.

Oh, it's sweet. You can have it.

Sweet fruit.

Yes. And there's a little bit there for you.

Here.

Me.

Mm-hmm.

Intelligence and vocabulary tests are set up in three different ways:

with signs, with words, and with both at the same time.

What's that? Just say what you see.

What do you see there?

Hmm? What's that?

You don't know? Okay, we'll do another one then if you don't know that one.

What's that?

Right, good. Okay.

What's that?

Mm-hmm.

The alligator is bottom left.

I want you to find the alligator.

You're kissing him?

Koko kisses and points to the alligator.

Koko, the bird in the basket.

- I'm only going to say it. - It's the third from the left'.

The bird in the basket.

Koko, the bird in the basket.

She kisses it.

Koko scores slightly lower than a child of the same age.

Okay, that's very good, Koko.

The important thing, of course, is...

that if you believe in the theory of evolution...

uh, that there ought to be some links...

uh, between, uh, various species...

and phyla and so on and so forth...

and if there's a big gap...

then you wonder about the theory.

And the more of the, you know, more little details...

by which we can fill the gap, uh, the better it is.

And one of the details that was missing...

was some kind of intermediate language ability, uh, which -

So that you could go from the barking of a dog or a wolf...

to human language.

This is such a huge gap.

Or the wagging of a tail...

or the meowing of a cat, or the purring of a cat.

These are all communicative, uh, expressions.

But it's so different from what we're doing right now.

Now, if there's a way of getting a few little items in between...

that say, “Yes, here's an animal who's a little closer to man than a dog or a cat...

and he also expresses himself a little more closely to the way man does“...

that - that is a great big step forward.

Go on. Let's get something to eat.

It's time for lunch.

It's time for lunch.

Well, let's see. Here.

We have banana for lunch. What else?

This? Okay.

Okay? Is that enough?

What else?

Nuts? Yes, okay. Peanut butter.

Fine.

Uh, that's empty, I think.

Okay, you can have that. I think it's empty.

Okay? Can you move, please? I'm gonna close.

Move, please. Koko, move, move.

Oh, it's not empty. Okay. Move, please.

Koko, move, please.

In their natural habitat, gorillas are vegetarians.

Koko eats hamburgers and takes vitamins like any American child.

I have something better over here.

Koko.

Every 15 days, Koko's life is recorded on videotape.

Twice a week, Penny conducts a less costly verbal taping session.

2-25-77, 4:00 to 5:00 dinnertime scoring.

Koko, are you hungry?

Hmm? What would you like to eat?

This lettuce? Happy. Makes you happy. Good.

That's good for you. You eat all your tree.

No, no. Koko, all of it now. Not some.

Now we have some beans.

Say it right. Koko signs a poor form “bean."

Come on. You say it.

I touch prompt her proper form. She signs, “Bean, bean.“

Good, Koko. Good. You want all of them?

Signs, “Some.” A poor form, “Bean, some.”

just touching her fingers together, sol give her some of them.

Okay, you can have some.

She hands me the end. That's the end.

You want me to break them?

Here, I'll clean them for you.

I take all the bad ends off the beans for Koko.

I fixed them. She signs poor form, “Bean. Hurry, give me.“

Come on, Koko. I touch prompt, “Bean? She signs, “Bean, Koko eat.“

“Untentative.” Koko again grabs the beans. So I give them to her.

Koko, what would you like now?

You pick one thing.

Cucumber thing? All right.

No, that's - Oh, yeah. Was it the red slices or the green slices?

The red slices. Okay. You can have the red slices.

But Koko takes the tomato and the onion.

Koko, you asked for the tomato only.

The red slices.

Now we have half of an onion.

Onion, yes. Be polite.

Please. Oh, Koko. You can do better than that.

“Please, “ after she signs poor form.

Now she signs, “Cucumber green.“ Yes, a slice is green.

Yes, that's what we call cucumber. Green slices.

The words Koko uses every day are checked off?

Whenever Koko makes up sentences...

these too are taken down and analyzed by a computer.

Okay, Koko.

Now, here's a toy. A couple of toys.

You know what I want you to do?

Comb the mouse.

It's a mouse, yes.

Good, Koko.

You're combing the mouse.

He likes that.

You gonna comb yourself?

Yes, and the mouse.

And Penny?

Do you want to comb Penny?

Thank you.

Ah, that hurts a little, Koko.

That's a little stuck.

Oh, you want to go out?

Hmm? Out?

That's your new sweater.

Koko. No, don't bite that. It's right here.

This is your new one, okay?

Oh, I know what you want. You want your baby? Okay, here.

Koko.

You want her?

Baby. Yes, baby Koko's.

Look, Koko. Here's something to feed her.

No, not Koko sip. Baby sip.

Okay? You give baby drink.

Koko, no. Don't open it.

No, no, no.

Let's - Well, let's put something in there.

No, actually, it doesn't have a hole.

Give baby. Yes.

To baby.

Y-Yes. You know it's empty, right?

But the baby doesn't mind.

Now you want to go out.

Can you get my keys? That's the wrong keys.

No. Wrong ones. Here's the right ones.

You find the right one.

You did! You found the right one.

Good girl. Which lock?

Do you need help? Hmm?

We have to get your necklace on, okay?

Then we can go out.

Let me find the right key. You're better at finding the keys than I am, Koko.

Very fast.

You love your baby? You love her?

Hmm?

Why did you do that, hmm?

Fix it.

Okay, now. Are you ready?

Should I sip?

That was good.

“Necklace hurry.“ Yes, yes.

You're being very impatient, Koko.

Sit over here, please. Move over sol can get it on right.

Okay, move over here.

Koko.

Yes. Yes, you're being polite today.

Please. You know. Okay.

What do you want now? Necklace. Where?

Right there. Okay.

Koko's neck. Yes. Put it on. You.

Mm-hmm. Okay. Here, sit up.

I think you're very tired.

Oh, we don't want to do more sipping. That's fine. That enough sipping.

Okay. Now we put on your necklace, okay?

Okay. Put this on.

No, Koko. No, no.

That's not your box.

Do we need this? Do we need this?

Koko doesn't know what to make of her new yellow sweater.

- Do you want on? - She wants her old red one back.

No, no. That's not red. That's yellow.

You know “yellow?

No. Not red, Koko. That's -

Oh, do you want your red one?

Here we go. No, that's just paper in there, just paper.

Here's the red one.

That's the one you want.

You want that one. Okay.

Your sweater on.

Okay. Give me your arm. Koko, give me your arm.

That's one arm. That's the other arm.

Good. Okay. Push it through.

It was cold that day.

Gorillas are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature...

and can easily catch pneumonia.

Take your baby too?

Okay. Good, good. You're going to be good. Fine.

That's the right one. Mm-hmm.

Oops, it's stuck. Okay.

Perhaps the, uh, word “person“...

might be, uh, restricted...

to an organism that quite clearly demonstrates self-consciousness...

both in place and in time.

And, uh - So that if there's a continuity to the stream of consciousness...

and in the sense that...

“Oh, yes, it is I who am perceiving a lot of different things“...

something of this kind.

Uh, Brentano originally defined, uh, humanity-

the humanness of human - in terms of what's called intentionality...

uh, which, uh- in which he simply pointed out...

that if we can distinguish our intentions from our actions...

and our perceptions from what it is that we actually perceive -

So if I -The example he used and has always been used since then is a unicorn.

I can perceive a unicorn.

I can close my eyes and I can see a single-horned, uh, beast of some sort.

But, uh, I know that I've never perceived such an organism.

Uh, that makes me human, because I can have the capacity for intentionality.

And, uh, so, uh, the question comes up: Where does this end?

Penny and I did a study earlier before she started with Koko...

looking at, uh - at minor apes - gibbons - to see -

because they are very, very good social hu -

I was gonna say “human beings“ -

uh, social, uh, animals.

And, uh, they, uh -

We tried the trick of painting their foreheads with some paint...

and having them look in a mirror.

Now, major apes, gorillas and chimpanzees..

Very easily, and orangutans too...

recognize themselves and try to wipe this paint off...

and very quickly identify this as themselves.

Whereas the gibbons never did.

And this was also true at the Yerkes Laboratories...

they just never got to, uh, the point...

where they were able to demonstrate to us...

that they recognized it was themselves in the mirror.

Now, that may be a fault of our techniques.

We may not have been able to mobilize whatever it is in the gibbon...

to show that he is.

But, uh, at least so far, there is that transition...

between minor and major apes...

which goes along with the whole business of intentionality and therefore personhood.

We have some things to make you pretty.

Pretty you?

Want some of this?

Yes, it's for your eyes. Mm-hmm.

It's Penny's thing, yes.

Here. You put it on yourself.

Okay? I'll give it to you. You do it.

No, no.

Not on your- Here. I will help you.

Are you afraid? Hmm?

Let's choose a different one. Different.

Let's see. We have something that's very nice for your hands here.

What's that, hmm? Lotion.

Would you like some?

Hmm? Lotion, yes?

No? Different thing?

Here. Koko, we have powder.

Yes, okay? You do.

And you look.

Beautiful. You're going to be - Oh, my.

Oh, my. It goes on your cheeks.

Koko, your - Not your eyes.

Put it on your cheek. Down here.

Koko. Right here.

Here, Koko. You know, I went to -

Oh, do you look funny, Koko.

Funny. Look.

You're white.

Your face is white. You see?

Careful with the brush, Koko.

Koko, somethings happened to that brush.

Hold it. What happened?

Oh, Koko. Koko.

What? What happened here?

Look here. What happened?

What about your eye, hmm?

I think you brushed it too hard.

Look what happened.

Now, this is your medicine for later.

Yes, you broke it. That's right. You said it right.

Broken.

Okay. We'll stop that game, okay? You wanna look at some pictures?

One day, a news station had come in to do a story on Koko.

And that evening it was on the news. We had Koko at home watching television.

When she saw herself, she got very excited.

She - They showed a scene of Koko eating a sandwich.

And she signed, “Koko eat.“

Oh, look.

Hold him. Hmm, you recognize him?

Yes. All right?

Oh, Koko, look.

Yes, birds.

Aren't they cute?

They're cute.

They're cute birds. Mm-hmm.

And - Oh, Koko, a baby cat.

See? Koko?

No, no. Cat.

Yes, he looks like a ti - It is a tiger. You're right.

That is a tiger. Mm-hmm.

Now, this is your medicine.

Mm-hmm. Okay.

She was one year old when I began the study.

And her early acquisition of signs was quite slow.

She learned about one per month for the first 18 months.

And then following that, her rate of acquisition accelerated.

And in the next year, she had acquired 100 signs.

The year following that, she again doubled and was up to about 250.

Now, this compares quite favorably...

with a child learning language in the early stages.

Between their second and third years...

a child may learn anywhere from 50 to 400 words.

At four, Koko lost her first tooth.

The event was filmed in Super 8.

Koko has also shown that she has an ability...

to refer to things that are distant in time and space.

For instance, one day, the day before, she had bitten a companion.

I asked her, “What did you do yesterday?“

She signed, “Wrong, wrong.“

“What's wrong?“ She signed, “Bite? So she remembered.

Walk, walk, walk, walk.

Walk, walk, walk, walk.

Watch the mouth.

Walk, walk.

That's a funny game.

This is a funny game.

This game was thought to have been invented by Koko.

In fact, ifs a game also played by young gorillas in the jungle.

Do you wanna ride?

How about -You wanna do the walk game or the ride game? Which?

This time, it's Koko's tum to ask Penny something.

“You“ what? Me what?

Sit where?

What do you want? You ask me. Ask me politely.

What do you want?

Penny's jacket off?

Okay.

Okay. Now what?

What? A hug?

A hug? A hug, a hug, a hug?

What are you doing?

What?

How far can Koko develop?

50 far, every limit that's been put up has been superseded.

And, uh, they've got a computer program to try to analyze the linguistic productions...

and look at the grammar, and look at just how complicated a grammar it is.

And that will help us decide pretty much...

where the limits, you know, are at the moment...

and what the future holds, of course.

But there's gonna be a difference.

I mean, gorillas really don't get together the way we have...

you know, in little seminars and ask questions of each other.

- Yeah. - So on and so forth.

Our productions are different.

And, uh, the question is of specifying those differences.

And I think we're coming close.

Okay.

Oh, you do - Oh, no.

Go ahead. That's a good girl.

Koko's health is carefully watched.

Her urine and blood are checked regularly.

Okay, we got it.

Since early childhood, Koko has been in daily contact with deaf-mutes.

Yeah. Well, we can do -

Koko.

Ken wants to play.

Wh - It is!

Hold it, Koko. Hold it.

That door's -

[Jesus Christ! My God!

See what she's doing.

She's into trouble.

Gorillas reach puberty at six and are fully adult at nine.

Their average life span is 50 years.

When this film was shot, Koko was almost six.

During the shooting, she started to go into heat four days out of the month.

There is a newcomer in Koko's life.

Michael, a young gorilla of four.

He already knows a dozen words.

Hey.

Hey. No barking.

Hey. Why are you barking? It's because of the necklace.

Because of the necklace? Shh.

Quiet. Yes. Quiet.

Key, please. Ask open.

She wants me to open this. Okay. You just leave it in the corner.

Okay. Let me find the right key.

At first Michael frightened Koko.

Then he made her jealous.

Later she got curious. Now she loves him.

Come on. You want Mike in?

They will have to wait three years to have children.

Yes! Mike's saying “chase?

“Chase out.“

“Chase out Mike. Out. Out.“ Mike's talking.

You know. Okay. You want me to just do this.

You want Mike?

“Mike in.“ Okay.

You move.

Here he comes. Here he comes.

Here he comes.

Mike's gonna have a ride.

Koko's hiding from Mike.

Where's Koko?

No, Mike. Don't bite that.

Where's Koko? Where?

Where's Koko?

There she is.

There she is. There she is.

Okay. Now we're gonna have fruit.

Fruit. Yes.

Michael wants a piece of fruit.

Sharing our lunch. You can have the big piece.

The big piece.

What's that? Hmm?

Some what?

Hmm? It's a- No, it's not a cookie.

It's your favorite thing.

A nut cracker.

What? Yes. A cracker... with nut.

Nut on it. Mm-hmm.

Okay. Michael, would you like some too? Would you like to sit over here?

Okay. You have your cracker.

Something sweet. Would you like something sweet?

What's that? That's a new sign.

That's “jealous.” Oh, wait a minute. She's jealous.

Are you jealous of Michael?

No, no, Michael.

He says he's - See? He says he's going to be nice and eat. Okay.

And look what we have. Cake. Yes.

And cake for Michael. Would you like-

There you go, Mike.

One of the - the major impacts of this research...

is it's the first time we've been able to establish two-way communication...

with a species other than our own.

And it has several implications.

One is we can begin to understand the mentality...

of another individual - or another species.

By using communication we can say, “What are you about?“ in so many ways.

And by understanding the chimpanzee in particular...

they are so similar to us in many respects -

For example, in blood protein, amino acids...

and, uh, uh, immunologies...

they are less than one quarter of one percent different than us.

Uh, you can even have a blood transfusion.

50 when you have a species that similar, obviously when you're learning about them...

and how they work, how their, uh, mentality operates...

you're learning about yourself too as a species.

But often times man - humans in general -

look very silly when we associate with - with other animals...

because we try to change them so much.

And I - I think I'm guilty of that too...

but I do attempt to take the chimps on their terms.

What I would like is an abstract to be put on top.

- Okay. All right. - Oh, yeah. And you can put this back.

Oh.

- Okay - Bye, Koko.

Look. Koko is going to ask for something that she can't point to.

What? Up? You want to go up and look?

At Mike? Yeah. Mike's there. Okay.

Okay.

You see Mike?

Can you see Mike? Hmm?

And “good“? Good.

Michael is learning.

More? More? Hmm?

More eat?

Okay. Eat. Eat what?

Eat... apple.

Good boy.

You're pretty heavy.

Koko, would you please get down?

Koko.

Down, please. Thank you.

Does, uh, Koko express feelings?

Koko has learned to express...

a number of-of states, or feeling states.

Uh, for instance, we - I routinely ask her how she's feeling in the morning.

And some days she says, “Happy. Fine.“

Other days, “Sad?

And zoo.

There's animals there.

Elephant. And lion.

And monkey.

And this is the end.

And there's a doll. And that's at the end.

And that's - “Fruit? “Apple?

Yes. Are you finished with the book?

Hmm? What would you like?

A rest? Okay. You rest.

Koko can only work two or three hours a day before getting tired.

Are you tired now?

Hmm? From learning?

What? What?

Water?

Oh, yes.

That is your favorite color. Right. Red.

Uh-uh. That's a scary bug.

Scary bug spider.

Spider.

Spider, spider, spider.

Yes? Koko, what's the matter?

You look sad. Are you sad this morning?

Hmm?

What's wrong?

Koko, tell me what. Tell me what's wrong. You look sad.

You cry?

Did you cry this morning?

You didn't.

Hmm?

You look sad, though, and tired.

Let's see. I think I know what you'd like. Something to make you happy.

Koko is very, very sensitive to how I'm feeling.

If I have just had a traumatic incident...

or for some reason have hurt myself...

and I'm in tears, huddled over the wound...

she'll come up, and she'll put her arm around me...

and she'll comfort me and kiss me and be very, very gentle and quiet.

- Mm-hmm. - And if I'm mad, she gets mad.

Koko, what happened?

You broke the box.

Look. Look.

You be careful.

Look at that.

Broken.

Now you're making a mess.

You're making a mess. Koko, pick up things.

What are you doing? Koko, quiet. Shh.

Listen to me. You not good now.

Why did you make a mess?

You clean. Here. Put them in the bo -

Oh, great. Now you're breaking the box.

Put them in the box. In the box.

Come on. You've broken the box too.

Everything's a mess.

Koko, would you please help clean?

Hey-

You want a spank? You get over there.

You help clean.

Not you in the box. Papers in the box.

Here. Come on, Koko. Papers in.

What are you doing, Koko? Hmm?

She's breaking it.

Koko!

All right.

Would you like to talk about this?

Why? Why do you rip things?

Why when I'm not watching you?

Koko.

Watch the mouth. Why do you do that?

What?

Why are you bad?

Hmm?

Can't you behave?

What? You're finished? Where do you want to go?

To your room? To bed. Oh, that's a good idea.

You want to sit here?

Koko. You want to - You want to help? Come.

Hmm? What? What?

You want to clean. You want to help clean?

Here's some -Yes. This is the sponge, and this is the water with soap.

There.

Koko, if she's an average gorilla...

may reach the weight of about 250 pounds.

Right now Koko's my weight. She's about 110.

We have a relationship which has never resulted in harm to me...

although there are days when Koko is cranky...

and could conceivably become mad and hit out or bite.

But if you're sensitive to her moods - and I'm becoming that way-

these things can be avoided.

And Koko wants to avoid them as much as I do.

Hello?

Um, no. Uh, if it's - If it's a-

Right.

Okay. Well, then I think maybe - I hope I can reach Dr. -

He's really difficult to get a hold of sometimes.

But if I can't, what I may do is talk to the editor of Brain' and Language...

and if he has any questions, have him get in touch with Dr. -

Okay? All right. Thank you very much for calling.

Uh-huh. Bye.

Koko!

Oh! Koko, if you do that - If you do that -

Oh, that brat!

All right. Back in the room. Back in the room.

In the room. You're bad.

Go in your room. Do you have to use the toilet first?

Koko, use the toilet, and then in the room for stealing.

Yes. You stole nut.

Stole it.

You stole it.

Now, why are you always stealing?

You must go in your room now.

You're not using your toilet.

Now you march.

To your room. Come on.

Koko, I mean it. You better go.

Right now. For five minutes.

Right there. Come on.

Koko! Right this minute.

Go.

Okay. Cut.

You're in trouble.

You are going to have just had it, Koko.

You just stay there for five or 10 minutes until you're better.

You're bad!

Bad, bad. Right. Now, you just have to behave.

If you can't behave, then you have to stay alone.

Koko, sit up. I have a question.

What happened?

Yes. What happened?

What happened here?

“Trouble? Yes. All right. “Trouble“ is right.

You had trouble. Well, Koko...

why did you do trouble?

Why?

Why trouble?

“Bad? Yes. Bad.

Thank you. Okay. Koko's good now.

Koko's good now? Yes? Good now?

Good. Okay. Good and quiet.

Fine. That's the way we like her.

Now, are you thirsty?

Did you get hot?

Here.

You're being polite.

Good. And happy. You happy to have a drink?

Mm-hmm. Good. Very good.

- That way - - No. We can't -

Oh, it's too busy there. Look. See? All kinds of people, Koko.

In their natural habitat...

gorillas live according to strict hierarchical rules.

Each must obey his superior in the group structure.

Penny would be in danger if she didn't assert, when necessary, her dominant role.

Education implies dominance.

How could Penny avoid transmitting her own values?

Will Koko become the first white American Protestant gorilla?

Koko's grown up with me as her mother...

which means that, of course, I'm dominant over her.

And I - I do occasionally have to enforce it...

by...

asking her to do as I say and not as she wants.

Um, although, quite-

In normal daily interactions, it doesn't - There is no confrontation.

We don't - We don't constantly fight for the right-of-way, as you might expect.

Uh, I think that in the wild even...

um, youngsters who grow up...

and may stay or leave the group...

generally the mother...

is given - is given precedence and -

Even though she may be smaller or weaker-

And I hope that this holds for myself as well.

Now, where are we going?

Yes. That's right.

We're gonna go straight.

To drink at Ventura? Yes?

You want a sweet drink?

You see somebody there. Okay. Everybody out.

Yes. Thirsty Koko.

Okay.

Careful. No, no. Not outside with the glass.

Stay here. Drink in here. Okay.

Hi, Koko.

Let -Wait. Be patient. Be patient. It's stuck.

I can't get. Here.

Okay. It goes the other way.

There. Fine.

That's it.

Yes? Chase.

This is a funny game.

A funny game.

This is a funny game.

This film had to be shot in secret.

Officially, Koko is still the zoo's property.

The zoo threatened to send the police and recover Koko.

Koko. We gotta go home now. Come.

Penny refused to give her up.

She was ready to run away with Koko or go live with her in a cage at the zoo.

In the end, Penny created the Gorilla Foundation, which bought Koko.

Then we went to see the zoo's director.

50 this is where you think Koko should normally be.

Well, she was born here and rai -Yes.

She was raised by her mother for a while.

But then there were some problems...

and the animal was taken away...

uh, from, uh, the adults to be hand raised...

because there were some medical problems.

But instead of putting them back, they kept her out.

And, uh, this, uh, Penny Patterson, uh...

wanted to do this project, and she was given permission to do it...

here at the zoo.

Uh, eventually she wanted to take the animal to Stanford University...

and permission was given by one of my predecessors to do that.

But the first thing, of course, that struck me was...

that, uh, I wondered whether the animal really knew it was a gorilla.

And, uh, we, of course, in zoos attempt to treat them as normal animals...

and leave them as wild as - as they possibly can be.

'Cause that's what I think they should be. That's the way they should be left. But...

other people have different opinions.

The right thing to do was to take the animal away out of that project...

and put it in a family of gorillas.

But, uh...

because of a lot of other pressures, it didn't turn out that way unfortunately.

Because the media made it a sort of a cause célèbre, so to speak...

and it was very difficult for - for me and for the zoo...

to do anything without looking like a real bad guy.

And I'll probably turn out like a bad guy here too.

But, uh, that has never bothered me before, so it's not gonna bother me now.

Would you have called the police to get Koko back?

Well, we could have. We could have been in that position, I guess.

- Legally at least. - Well, legally it was our-

It was our right. It's our animal.

The director of the zoo claims that you should let Koko be a gorilla...

and not humanize the gorilla.

Well, I think that, um...

Koko is a - is a gorilla who has been born in the United States...

and reared here.

Not of her own will. I mean, she is-

She's in American society...

and I think that they're using the word “humanize“...

where I would use, uh, something like “peopleize?

I see her as an individual.

And as an individual, she should be treated...

in-in- humanely-as a human.

I mean, I think to treat her any other way would be cruel...

in her present circumstance.

Now, in terms of-of- They're worried, I think...

that she will never breed.

What they really mean is...

they are afraid that Koko will not appreciate her own kind...

will think of herself as a person - well, I hope she does -

and will -will think of gorillas as something beneath her.

Now, we have every reason to believe that she knows she's a gorilla...

that she has said so on many occasions...

and identified pictures...

and that she will - it may take a while -

begin to socialize with her own kind...

in a way that would eventually lead to breeding.

Nice. Gentle. Oh.

Koko, no hitting.

- Hey Let'; be gentle. - Be nice. Nice.

Gentle.

What are you doing? You don't want to be on that.

Oh. He's gonna fight back.

Play.

Koko. Did she -

Hey. Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey.

- Koko - - Koko!

She's biting.

- No. - You watch it too.

No mouth. No biting.

That's - Hey. Listen to me.

Koko, what are you doing to Mikey?

Then why do you do it?

Don't you bite Michael. No.

We'll have to go in if you do it. You want to go inside?

He's laughing. He thinks ifs fun.

We hope to continue the study throughout Koko's lifetime...

and Michael's lifetime...

so that we can establish a group or a family...

of communicating gorillas.

Now, this is not far out -

a far-out idea because right now Koko and Michael are signing to each other...

regularly, every day.

And Koko and Michael have also...

taught dumb companions by molding them...

much in the way they might teach their own children.

Koko talks to her gorilla dolls...

the way a young child plays dolls...

so that you can see the beginnings of the maternal -

and instinct coming out.

And in it is language.

The vocal apparatus of primates only allows them to emit cries.

Koko has just begun to use a computer that does the talking for her.

Every 10 minutes, for several hours a day...

the new machine invites her to its keyboard.

Koko, do you want to talk now?

- Fruit. Eat fruit. - Okay. I'll find some.

- Apple. - I'll get one. Okay?

- Apple. - Okay, okay, okay.

I'm getting it. Here it is.

You - Okay. You want to listen. Here. You listen some more.

Eat food. Apple.

Apple. Hurry.

Why don't we say “more“ in English?

- Apple. - Oh. More apple. Okay.

But “more, “ Koko, is here.

We're going to learn the word for “more, “ Koko.

“More? “More?

- More apple. - Right.

Does your ear bother you?

Milk. Thirsty.

Okay. I will make your milk.

We are going to make it.

No. “Drink milk.“

- That's the “drink“ button. - Drink.

Right. Okay. You hold the glass.

- No. You want me to hold it. - Apple.

No. We're going to have milk.

- Okay? You asked me for milk. - Apple.

Apple, apple.

Okay. While I'm making the milk, you can eat some apple.

- All right? - Eat food.

Right. Okay.

I will make your milk.

- Apple. - No. That's not right.

You had apple.

- Thirsty. - Yes. You're thirsty, and you want -

Let's say “milk?

- Like. - You'd like to have milk.

Right. Now let's say it in English.

- Milk. - Right.

Koko, do you want to talk now?

- Eat food. Apple. Apple.

All. All. All. Eat. All.

You want to eat all?

You had it all. You want a tickle and chase?

Tickle. Okay. What you want then -

Oh. You want to say that we're finished.

Yes. This - You know how to say “finished?

In English. You know. Say “finished?

Where's the word for “finished“?

You say “finished, “ and I'll turn it off. Off. Okay?

- Do you remember? - Milk.

No. That's not it. “Finished“ is here.

- Finished Like. Like. - Okay. Now I'm gonna tell it to say good-bye.

- Do you want to stop now?

This is “yes?

- Stopping. - Okay. It said it's going to stop.

Now what do you want to do?

You want to go out?

Say bye.

Bye-bye, Koko.

Hurry up. Oh, oh, oh.

Oh.

Say bye to Dale.

Want to take the necklace off now that you're good?

Now that you - No - No temptation.

Okay? “Go“? You want to go with Dale?

Well, here. Let's take off your necklace.

Koko, come on. I'll take it off.

Off.

Okay.

It's my feeling that if Koko was taken away from her friends on the project...

and thrown into a cage...

with other gorillas - or even alone -

that she probably would have just gone into a deep depression...

stopped eating and most likely have died.

Run. I'll chase you.

Chase you to the trees.

If someone killed Koko, legally it wouldn't be murder.

Legally, it's kind of ghastly to think about.

Koko has no rights. She's considered as an object that you can buy and sell. In fact -

- Property - Property The zoo'; property.

San Francisco Zoo's property

I think that Koko should have the same rights as a young child.

Maybe she would be more compared to, uh, a child with learning disabilities -

retarded child or an autistic child - but nevertheless, these children do have rights.

A gorilla, you know, is not a person.

And I think maybe - Koko was made to be... a person.

And I'm not sure that, you know, that's, uh -

As I say, that is an unnatural thing certainly.

For a gorilla, the word “good“ and “bad“ has no meaning whatsoever.

Though, uh -And of course, for us it doesn't either...

unless we're taught by our parents.

And, uh - Uh, you know, that's not being a gorilla.

A gorilla is not good or bad either way.

No matter what it does, it's not good or bad...

because it's just a gorilla, and you can't impose our value judgments on a gorilla.

Koko, this is for you. You hungry?

You want lunch?

This is your lunch.

Okay? Would you like some lunch?

Yes? Hungry you.

You'd like to eat. Okay. Here it is. There's chicken - Chicken. Mm-hmm.

Potato chips and juice.

Mm-hmm. Do it better.

Apple juice. Your favorite.

Apple. Koko. Your favorite, apple.

Good, good? You know. Okay.

Would a child who behaved like Koko be put in an institution?

But why must human behavior be our only standard?

Should Koko be granted special rights because she can talk?

Does she raise the question of an animal's right to live according to the rules of its own species?

Our concept of intelligence seems to be changing.

Must intelligence be conscious and aware of its own identity to be defined as such?

In fact, Koko raises all the important questions about man.

You like this. I know. You like it.

Bitter? Lemon.

Hmm?

Yes. You're thirsty.

Good, good drink. Yes. Sweet drink.

This is sour drink. Right. And lemon. Taste lemon.

Okay?

Who is to say that only human beings are persons?

Isn't this gorilla demonstrablya person?

In our society, a person has certain rights...

limited as they may be.

Granting these rights to primates opens the door for the animal world.

Western civilization, from its inception...

had always argued that man was created in the image of God...

and was intrinsically different from animals and nature.

Dana/ins theory of evolution already shattered this view of man's uniqueness.

Its last support was man's exclusive possession of language.

But it - it now throws us in the position of saying...

“Well, maybe we're not separate from nature.

Maybe we're not different in kind.“

Which, uh, leads us to the logical conclusion that we're where we always have been:

a part of nature.

And if you're a part of nature, then you have to start perceiving nature in a different fashion.

If you're better than nature, if you're different in kind...

if you're separate from nature...

then you can exploit nature.

Uh, if you're better than somebody else, if you're different in kind, you can exploit them.

I think this was evident during slavery.

Uh, blacks at that time weren't considered to have souls. So they could be exploited.

And, uh, if you only come from a rib, what makes you think you have the right to vote?

So this notion of dichotomies and differences in kind...

have led to exploitation not only of nature and the environment...

which we've done a very excellent job of, uh, destroying some things...

but also of people.

And I think, uh, getting the notion of a continuity-

that we're a part of this whole ecosystem and part of this planet...

that we'll have to start, uh, adjusting to this...

as being, you know, just one member here...

that's trying to make it along with everyone else.

And so far-the centuries have passed -

man has had no way of judging himself...

because he had no- nothing to compare himself with.

Here he was alone, the only creature on Earth...

who could - could reflect, was conscious of himself...

had speech to express his thoughts...

and he could compare himself with animals...

on the basis of their anatomy and physiology, but when he -

when it got to the mind, he was stuck.

He just - He thought, well, we'll look to the stars.

We'll - When we find creatures from other planets, either they'll see -

When they come to us or we go to them...

then we'll be able to - to know what we are.

But it turns out that - that these studies show that right here on Earth...

are creatures against which we can compare ourselves on our own terms.

On our mental -

Put our minds and see how we differ or how we're alike.