Grieving Koko the gorilla

Koko, the gorilla who gained fame for mastering sign language, breathed her last on June 19 in California. The western lowland Gorilla who befriended a lot of celebrities through sign language, including Robin Williams, died at the age of 46. In her loving memory, Sony BBC Earth will air a special series ‘Koko — The Gorilla Who Talks to People’ on Friday, June 29 at 11 a.m.

This series is a unique and personal story of Koko, the only talking gorilla in the world, and her lifelong relationship with researcher Penny Patterson. Project Koko started as a PhD project to teach sign language to a baby gorilla, but as Koko began to communicate with Penny, an intense bond formed between them. Penny who has been Koko’s caretaker for over 40 years claims that Koko had moved beyond simple language to express complex emotions that changed people’s attitude towards all animals.

Koko’s unique life with Penny was filmed every step of the way and traces Koko’s life over the years: her love, losses, dating, her unfulfilled desire to have a baby and her work as an ambassador worldwide for better understanding and protection of great apes. Koko was truly extraordinary as she challenged everything we thought we knew about animal intelligence.