 | Copies of this journal are no longer available for sale, but our other two journals, Society & Animals and the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, are available and subscriptions are quite affordable. They can be ordered online via our secure order page. |
The Gorilla Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1976 to promote the protection, preservation, and propagation of gorillas. The primary focus of the Foundation's work is Project Koko, a program which involves teaching American Sign Language to two western lowland gorillas: Koko and Michael. Through the Foundation's longitudinal observational studies, extensive research, and the ability to communicate with Koko and Michael, it is in the unique position to identify and implement optimum conditions for gorilla care. The Foundation is establishing an innovative gorilla preserve on Maui, Hawaii, designed to foster the development of natural, healthy, and prolific family groups. The preferences and opinions of Koko and Michael were taken into consideration during the planning stages. The Gorilla Foundation hopes this preserve, designed with the gorillas' best interests in mind, will become a model for other gorilla facilities throughout the world.
Before Project Koko, very little was known about gorilla intelligence. The project has helped refute the stereotype of gorillas as destructive, ferocious monsters and has shown they are intelligent, shy, and sensitive beings. Koko captured the world's attention when she befriended a kitten she named All Ball and used sign language to express her grief after the kitten's death. It is now apparent that a nonhuman animal can have thought processes, imagination, creativity, and feelings; qualities that were once considered exclusively human. This knowledge is crucial to all animal advocacy efforts, from the prevention of animal cruelty to the conservation and preservation of endangered species. By demonstrating the intelligence of gorillas, people can more effectively lobby for the humane treatment of captive animals and increased conservation efforts for those who are free-living.
Through the Foundation's observational studies, extensive research, and the ability to communicate with Koko and Michael, it is in the unique position to identify and implement optimum conditions for gorilla care. The Foundation is establishing an innovative gorilla habitat designed to foster the development of natural, healthy, and prolific family groups. The 70-acre preserve is located in a secluded area of West Maui, Hawaii. The preserve's multi-acre enclosures will give the gorillas a sense of freedom they can experience nowhere else outside the rapidly disappearing African rain forest.
Drs. Patterson and Cohn began the search for the preserve in 1983 in response to the extreme pressures acting on gorilla populations. Current zoo gorilla population levels are barely large enough to sustain the species. Gorillas are more psychologically delicate than other great ape species and environmental stresses often negatively affect gorilla reproductive potential. Africa's projected human population explosion, political instability, and accelerated deforestation threaten African preserves and free-living gorillas. The Foundation hopes to welcome gorillas living in less-than-ideal situations and provide them the security, tranquility, and dignity to which they are entitled.
Koko and Michael have been extremely helpful in designing the Maui preserve. Through sign language they make their desires known to their human care givers. The gorilla's preferences and opinions were taken into consideration during the planning stages. The preserve will not be open to the public because it is quite apparent that the gorillas are disturbed by the presence of strangers. Michael and Ndume, Koko's 12-year-old male companion on loan from the Cincinnati Zoo, become highly agitated when visitors come onto the grounds of their home. They make distress vocalizations, display charges, and often require several days to regain their sense of security. Physiological signs of stress include sweating, diarrhea, and shaking. Koko usually enjoys meeting new people; however, prolonged visits often end in nervous displays and leave her feeling sad. When questioned about visitors Koko and Michael make their views very clear:
Koko: Koko love Tyler. (Tyler is Michael's male caretaker. Koko likes Tyler a great deal.)
Q: What sort of visitors don t you like?
K: Visitor dirty curious.
Q: Don't like visitors that ask a lot of questions?
K: Frown bad.
Q: They're interested, they want to find out about you.
K: Lip insult (Lip in Koko's invented word for woman).
Q: Like it better if they don t ask a lot of questions?
K: Gorilla love.
Michael: Chase chase squash hit-in-mouth.
Michael: Stupid no-good. Because of the gorillas' discomfort around strangers, the Gorilla Foundation will build an interpretive center near the preserve and plans to allow the public to view the activities of the gorillas through closed-circuit cameras. The focus of the center will be interactive with lectures, videotaped footage of the project, historical artifacts, educational displays, information, and a gift shop to raise awareness and funds to support the preserve.
Q: What do you think of the new play yard?
Michael: Out good gorilla happy.
Michael: Gorilla smile. Love eat apple. (Apple trees grow next to the outdoor yard.)
The 70-acre site is bordered by pineapple fields and state forest land so there is the possibility of future expansion. The preserve's outdoor facilities will range from 1/2 to 10 acres in size depending on the amount of money raised by the Foundation. The facilities will be large enough to allow the gorillas a sense of freedom. They will be able to climb trees, forage for food, escape skirmishes, have privacy, develop social relationships with other gorillas, claim territories for their respective groups, and avoid humans if they choose. Multi-acre enclosures will allow vegetation to regenerate as the gorillas move around to feed in other areas. The Foundation plans to grow edible plants, such as bananas, bamboo, and wild ginger, within the enclosures so the gorillas can supplement their diet and enjoy foraging. The plants will also provide shade, shelter, and seclusion. Foundation staff have been working closely with the Hawaii Board of Agriculture, horticulturalists specializing in African plants, zookeepers, and professional gardeners to determine which plant species to cultivate.
The boundaries of the spacious and lofty gorilla habitats will be constructed of steel mesh panels which are fully transportable and strong enough to withstand the force of gorilla strength. The areas will be separated by hydraulic gates with manual override mechanisms. Each enclosure will contain a partitioned section to be used for the socialization and adaptation of new individuals. Within the habitats there will be shade panels, shelters, boulders, hills, and various play objects including hammocks, firehoses, cement pipes, steel ladders, suspended rings, platforms at varying heights, slides, nets, ropes, swings, huts, catwalks near the top of the enclosure, and wading pools amid the lush tropical vegetation. Because our facility will not be open to the public, we can design the facilities for function and use by the gorillas rather than appearance.
Koko: Hurry drapes.
Q: What scares gorillas?
K: Koko knows.
Q: What scares them?
K: Trouble.
Koko: Afraid. Close drapes. Close drapes. Do that key. Do that key. (Koko points to the wooden door.) Afraid afraid afraid afraid. The custom-designed indoor facilities will have three spacious rooms connected with hydraulic gates. Windows and skylights will be positioned to allow cross-breezes and sunlight to enter the rooms. Windows will be equipped with shades and covered with steel mesh to prevent escape. Feeding chutes will be built into the mesh for safe food transfer. Rooms will have benches and hammocks placed at varying heights for hiding and nesting. The floor will be made of a material that is durable and moisture resistant. Each room will contain a raised toilet and a floor drain. The floors and windows will be raised approximately two feet above the ground so the gorillas will be at the same level as their human care givers. Koko made it very clear that she prefers people to remain low when they are in her presence.
Koko: Down! (signed emphatically using two hands) She responded "Down!" to each repetition of this inquiry but one, to which her reply was "Sleep." She followed this answer by prostrating herself as if to make her point perfectly clear.
Each indoor facility will contain a human area equipped with a refrigerator for food storage, sinks, storage space, bed, bathroom, microwave for cooking food items, and a videoviewer for Koko and Michael to aid in the language study. The gorillas will be provided with enrichment activities and objects such as nut logs, pvc pipes, burlap bags, termite mounds, and puzzle-boxes to keep them entertained while spending time indoors. A 4' x 5' x 3' floor scale will be built into a bridge that leads to the outdoor habitat. Individual gorillas may be isolated in the scale area for medical examinations and treatment. The Foundation uses behavioral training to prepare the gorillas for potentially stressful health care procedures.
Koko: Gorilla love eat good. In order to fulfill gorillas' protein requirement, zoos often give dairy products and eggs. These foods contain high levels of cholesterol and can produce allergic reactions in humans. Extremely high levels of cholesterol have been reported in captive gorillas (Gould, 1988). The Foundation does not give these items to the gorillas and avoids other high fat foods. Gorillas living at the preserve will be given a diet containing large amounts of fibrous vegetation and will be supplemented by the African and Hawaiian plants grown in the gorilla enclosures. A garden will be planted on the grounds to grow fresh fruits and vegetables for gorilla meals. The Foundation will provide the gorillas with as much organic produce as possible to reduce their exposure to potentially harmful chemical pesticides. The Foundation will continue to consult experts and stay abreast of current dietary information to determine a diet that will maintain optimum gorilla health.
The Gorilla Foundation hopes this state-of-the-art preserve will become a model for other gorilla facilities throughout the world. The preserve was designed with the gorilla's best interest in mind. By listening to the opinions of Koko and Michael it is apparent that gorillas and humans share very similar views of what a home should be. Gorillas need a safe and peaceful place where they can escape the pressures of modern civilization. The Gorilla Foundation will continue to expand its study of gorilla behavior and language ability. We are interested to learn whether Koko and Michael will teach sign language to their offspring or other gorillas who join them on the preserve. We will also observe the wide range of natural communicative gestures used by gorillas uninstructed in human sign language (Tanner, 1993). Through the knowledge we gain about gorilla intelligence, communication, nutritional needs, and reproductive behavior we can improve the lives of all gorillas.
For more information or to become a member please write: The Gorilla Foundation, Box 620-530, Woodside, California 94062.
Even as a very young child, Penny was captivated by animals,
especially those living in the woods and swamp around her home in rural
Minnesota. Project Koko and Michael has become her life's work. It is Penny's
goal to help ensure the continued survival of their endangered species by
establishing a preserve where gorillas can live in peace and dignity. In
her spare time, Penny enjoys gourmet cooking, swimming, snorkeling, horseback
riding, and traveling.
In her spare time she enjoys song writing, playing guitar in a band with two other Gorilla Foundation employees, hiking, camping, swimming, and traveling.
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| Copies of this journal are no longer available for sale, but our other two journals, Society & Animals and the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, are available and subscriptions are quite affordable. They can be ordered online via our secure order page. |