The 9/11 tragedy and a gorilla’s sensibilities

2008-09-12
By

Regular readers of this blog well know that I’m a fan of Koko, the gorilla who has been taught sign language. I think that the reaction of people at the Gorilla Foundation to the horrors of 9/11 is quite interesting and worthy of discussion.

As soon as Gorilla Foundation officials heard of the 9/11 attacks, they had all of the news stations on Koko’s television disabled. Workers were instructed to make no mention of the attacks in sign language and no mention of them within the gorilla’s earshot.

The above precautions were designed to prevent Koko from getting unnecessarily upset. However, one might wonder about the priorities of Dr. Penny Patterson, President of the Gorilla Foundation and Koko’s adoptive mother, as well as others at the Gorilla Foundation. Their country is under attack. The first thing that these people appear to think about is how it could affect the sensibilities of a simian. This reminds me of the calendar put out by the Gorilla Foundation. On the date of July 4th, there is note that that date is Koko’s birthday. Below that note is a reminder that it is the anniversary of America’s independence. Are the events listed in order of their importance as seen by the Gorilla Foundation?

The attempt to protect Koko from knowing about 9/11 also reminds me of something author Eugene Linden, who is well acquainted with Koko, wrote about the relationship between Penny Patterson and Koko. In Linden’s view, Patterson and Koko seem like an overly close mother and daughter of the type one might expect to see depicted in a Tennessee Williams play.

Despite the best efforts of the Gorilla Foundation to protect Koko, this sensitive simian picked up on the moods of the humans. In the days after 9/11, Koko sometimes signed, “Sad. Why sad?”

I would like my readers to tell me what they think of the Gorilla Foundation’s response to 9/11. Were they right to keep the news from Koko? Or were they being overprotective?

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  • Ron

    A gorilla, like many animals, can detect a change in mood with its caregiver. So, if you were working with this particular gorilla at the time you were informed of the radical Islamic attacks on American soil then, yes, he/she could pick up on your mood. You would try to hide those feelings and stay upbeat. Could the gorilla understand what exactly had taken place on 9/ll? – No.

    The public hardly knows what has actually taken place where the gorillas lives nor does the public really know how this organization is ran. If they did, they would be very disturbed by the lack of competence and stress the gorillas have been under.

    All this aside, why would this be a topic when such real issues face our country? Our holidays are continually downplayed by small part of our politically correct citizens as well as the media. The least of our concerns should be whether some small, poorly ran organization puts out a good calendar. Maybe its fair to discuss it but what will it change?

  • Squiggy

    The attempt to protect Koko from knowing about 9/11

    Do you really think (you and the “researchers”) that a gorilla could understand the complex idea of buildings being destroyed by airplanes? You’re giving them too much credit. “Give me a banana” is totally different from “Give me a banana next Tuesday”, and the difference is far beyond any gorilla’s capabilities. Just as “defend your territory” is different from “we’re under attack from Islamist extremists and airplanes are being crashed into buildings”. They can’t understand no matter how hard you try.

    They’re not human. Deal with it.

  • amfortas

    I do not know just how much Gorillas understand. They have a complete and comprehensive understanding of their natural environments and their familial groups. They may not have any concept of electricity but can be taught to switch on a light with relative ease. I don’t understand how electricity works either.

    This particular gorilla expresses concern at a human friend’s sadness. I can accept that a gorilla has a fairly firm understanding of cause and effect. I have heard of gorillas crying and being devastatedly sad when someone they know dies or even leaves.

    I can well accept that if it were communicated to a gorilla that the building next door had collapsed and someone died, it would realize the relationship between a building collapse and a death, very much like reconising a death of another gorilla if a tree fell on it. This gorilla is as used to man-made buildings as it is to trees. Perhaps more used to them.

    Koko’s human carers have a responsibility. They made a judgment call. They acted in a manner that was protective of their charge. “The first thing that these people appear to think about is how it could affect the sensibilities of a simian.”

    That was their job.

    Bus drivers continued on their routes. Their first reaction was to do the work they were doing. That was their job.

    It is very likely that kindergarten teachers and a million families tried hard to stop their children being hit with the huge emotive charge that the attack caused. Many an adult was devastated when they were confronted with the pictures and commentary. I watched it happening too and was stunned. After an hour of watching it over and over, I cried.

    I would not have let small children watch it. If I was a Director of the Gorilla Foundation I would not have let Koko watch it. That would have been my judgment call.

    Would a gorilla which is hard-wired to defend it’s territory from invaders understand that someone was attacking? I am pretty sure it would grasp that. Would it make the insightful leap to grasp that it lived in a ‘human’s territory’ and that humans were just as territorial? I don’t know, but I would not assume not.

    Denise – here is something else that you might think about. I understand that Koko is a female gorilla. The genetic difference between the great apes and humans is very small. Just a few percent. And almost all of that difference is on the male chromosome.

    Mother and daughter relationship, eh. Is that so bad?

    Sqiggy, who I agree with more often than not, is I think reacting to you here with his ‘deal with it’. We deal with things in a wide variety of ways but hopefully err on the side of protectiveness of our charges.

  • merck

    I think this article leaves a lot to the imagination.

    What do you think Denise?

    Should the gorilla be left in the dark?

    After all, Penny and the foundation rely on Koko for their own livelihood via tax dollars, and upsetting her might ruin it for everyone concerned. Keeping the money coming in is far more important to the foundation than the birth of a nation. Nations come and go, but the foundation that survives on taxpayer dollars cannot risk losing everything for the sake of a better informed gorilla.

  • Squiggy

    Amfortas, I was agreeing with Denise, more than not. She said “The first thing that these people appear to think about is how it could affect the sensibilities of a simian. “, which pretty much sums up the liberal/PETA attitudes about humans. They think humans are a blight on the earth, and that, if we were gone, animals would eventually “grow up” and be the loving, peaceful creatures we’re not. Especially the benevolent, wonderful gorillas, like Koko.

    They give her the intelligence equivalent of a five-year-old human child, which is partially correct. She probably has the memory of a child, but the difference in problem-solving ability is light-years apart. That was my point with “give me a banana next tuesday”.

    How about they teach Koko to drive a car? That doesn’t take very much intelligence at all. Even stupid people do it.

  • dee

    It’s unfortunate some strong opinions (and judgment) are based on such limited information of gorillas and of the values of some people. One thing about the GF project is that it has demonstrated that at least some great apes are far more sentient than most people suspect (or “know”). When people go to work, they have an obligation to do their jobs. In this case, it is looking after the welfare of 2 gorillas. Regarding the calendar, I find the point somewhat inconsequential and nitpicking. Sometimes there are even small mistakes and typos. The foundation relies much on volunteer labor and other contributions. If you would like more complete information, please check out the direct source:

    Koko’s reaction to the crisis-
    Part 1
    http://www.koko.org/world/journal.php?jID=4
    Part 2
    http://www.koko.org/world/journal.php?jID=2

    It’s amazing what certainty some people have of their “knowledge” of gorillas. You just might be very pleasantly surprised to learn a bit more about them. Koko understands much spoken English (perhaps a grade school level vocabulary, but a gorilla’s memory is more developed than that of a child; learn of Michael’s memory of his mother being poached, Koko’s memories of feelings of loss of Michael & of her cat, All Ball; they do have problem solving abilities). Take it from someone who has interacted with this perceptive and yes, sensitive gorilla. You might also want to see the PBS Nature series documentary about her narrated by Martin Sheen.
    http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/koko/

    Much more about capabilities/capacity for intellect, emotion and more, and info about considerations of things such as syntactical differences between sign language and English:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf7ZpdvnoEE

    Hope this is helpful.






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