Meet Koko: a female gorilla born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4th, 1971. Koko learned sign language from her trainer, Dr. Penny Patterson. Patterson began teaching sign language to Koko in 1972, when Koko was one year old. In 1974 Koko and her trainer moved to the Stanford University campus. Dr. Patterson says that Koko knows over 1,000 words, and that Koko makes up new words. For example, Koko didn't know the sign for ring, so she signed the words finger and bracelet.

Meet Koko: a female gorilla born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4th, 1971. Koko learned sign language from her trainer, Dr. Penny Patterson. Patterson began teaching sign language to Koko in 1972, when Koko was one year old. In 1974 Koko and her trainer moved to the Stanford University campus. Dr. Patterson says that Koko knows over 1,000 words, and that Koko makes up new words. For example, Koko didn't know the sign for ring, so she signed the words finger and bracelet.

This section provides biographical details about Koko the gorilla, her birthdate, location, trainer, and her linguistic abilities, including learning over 1,000 words and creating new signs.