It’s a sad day! Koko, the Gorilla which mastered sign language and showed the world the ability of apes, has passed away, according to the Gorilla Foundation. She died in her sleep at age 46.
She was a Western lowland gorilla and was born in 1971, at the San Francisco Zoo, where she learned sign language early in life.
Koko liked to read and be read to, according to a blog post by the Gorilla Foundation. The foundation further revealed that her tenderness showed people how loving a gorilla can be.
During the course of her lifetime, the gorilla made famous friends such as Fred Rogers and Robin Williams. Koko communicated with them via sign language, and understood over 2,000 words of spoken English and could understand conversations.
She appeared twice on the cover of National Geographic and appeared in several documentaries. Koko was also exhibited as a painter.
Image Credit: New York Post