One Damn Smart Ape

[KRL]

WOODSIDE, Calif. - When Koko the gorilla used the American Sign Language gesture for pain and pointed to her mouth, 12 specialists, including three dentists, sprang into action. The result? Her first full medical examination in about 20 years, an extracted tooth and a clean bill of health.

About a month ago, Koko, a 300-plus-pound ape who became famous for mastering more than 1,000 signs, began telling her handlers at the Gorilla Foundation in Woodside she was in pain. They quickly constructed a pain chart, offering Koko a scale from one to 10.

When Koko started pointing to nine or 10 too often, a dental appointment was made. And because anesthesia would be involved, her handlers used the opportunity to give Koko a head-to-toe exam.

"She's quite articulate," volunteer Johnpaul Slater said. "She'll tell us how bad she's feeling, how bad the pain is. It looked like it was time to do something."

Twelve specialists haha8212; a Stanford cardiologist, three anesthesiologists, three dentists, an ear and throat specialist, two veterinarians, a gastroenterologist and a gynecologist haha8212; volunteered to help.

"It's not often that we get to work on a celebrity," said Dr. David Liang, assistant professor of medicine at Stanford. "Probably, Koko is less demanding."

The team came to Koko Saturday, bringing portable X-ray and ultrasound machines. They set up shop at her "apartment," which looks like a remodeled box car, complete with a makeshift toilet, television, DVD player and lots of toys.

After four hours of tests haha8212; including a colonoscopy, gynecological exam, dental work, X-rays, and ultrasounds haha8212; doctors pronounced her fit.

Koko, who celebrated her 33rd birthday July 4, was due for a checkup. While gorillas in captivity are known to live into their 50s, they are susceptible to heart disease and a thickening of the arteries.

Koko and Ndume, her partner of 11 years (he doesn't "speak"), have been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby, and the doctors thought the checkup could let them know whether she had any biological problems preventing it. She doesn't.

Her teacher, Francine Patterson, was at her side when the anesthesiologist prepared to put her under in the morning, and apparently Koko asked to meet her specialists.

They crowded around her, and Koko, who plays favorites, asked one woman wearing red to come closer. The woman handed her a business card, which Koko promptly ate.

Otherwise, Koko was calm, Liang said.

The Gorilla Foundation has studied gorilla intelligence by teaching American Sign Language to Koko and another gorilla, Michael, who died in 2000.



She even has a pet kitten. LOL

[wdsguy]

Funny how she ate the one womens business card

[eroswebmaster]

But can she build galleries?

If so I have a job for her.

[abyss_al]

that's amazing..

i was watching a documentary on this one ape that was also taght to sign, she had advanced the sign to her own technique and was teaching it to her babies, they got better and better at it... they were fully communicating with each other in sign, it was some crazy shit...trying to find the video to buy now

[Doctor Dre]

I wonder if monkeys would start to educate their kids how fast they would become smart ... from what we teach them

[KRL]

Originally posted by eroswebmaster
But can she build galleries?

If so I have a job for her.

She knows 1,000 sign language patterns.

I'm sure she must know how to point and click.

[KRL]

Originally posted by Doctor Dre
I wonder if monkeys would start to educate their kids how fast they would become smart ... from what we teach them

Well we all can trace our ancestry to apes, so eventually all you need is a slight mutation and you'd surely have a human like ape again.

[Spunky]

She is truely inteligent..Gorillas and Apes really amaze me how they are so close to being human.

[Video-Post]

Originally posted by KRL


She even has a pet kitten. LOL

That's cute!

[Goatse]

Originally posted by Doctor Dre
I wonder if monkeys would start to educate their kids how fast they would become smart ... from what we teach them

It's not that simple. Gorillas are still genetically inferior to homo sapiens when it comes to intellectual capabilities. If only the most intellectually gifted apes were allowed to breed, perhaps we could somehow find ourselves sharing our living space with a higher form of gorillas, a few centuries from now. But would that be a good idea?

[Firehorse]

That ape could put a few humans to shame!