Leopards Blog

From the Archive

So this is really interesting and heartbreaking.

This is Koko. She was a gorilla who astoundingly enough understood and could use  American sign language. She used sign language to ask her trainer for a cat.  She was fond of cats, and her first kitten was a tailless grey cat who she named All Ball. She was a gentle mother and treated All Ball like her own baby.

Unfortunately, All Ball escaped the gorilla cage and was hit by a car.

Koko’s trainer told her what had happened. When asked if she wanted to talk about her cat, Koko signed “Cry.” When asked what happened to her kitty Koko signed “Sleep cat.”

When shown a picture of a kitten that looked like All Ball, Koko signed “Cry, sad, frown.”

When Koko was left alone, people could hear whimpers from her cage.

I just thought it was interesting that not only could an animal understand a language and use it effectively, but that there is a possibility that some animals may be able to feel emotions that are similar to our own. Although these things are really up to our own individual observation and interpretation, it cannot truly be proven.

(via iamonlyamaid)