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Ndume
is a mature male (silverback) lowland
gorilla who
came from the Cincinatti
Zoo to live with Koko in 1991, when
he was just 10 years old. Koko actually
selected him from a variety of other
potential mates via "video dating"
(see
the video clip) and has gotten along
with him beautifully ever since.
While Ndume and Koko have not yet mated,
there is still a chance for them to
have children — Ndume is already
a proven father (of three children in
Cincinattii) and Koko is very attracted
to him. A combination of two factors
may help: more privacy from human caregivers,
and additional female gorillas to form
a more natural gorilla family group.
The Gorilla Foundation is working very
hard to meet both of these needs while
Koko's biological clock still permits
— and with your support, we hope
to witness Koko and Ndume raising children.
The potential scientific impact of Koko
bearing (or adopting) children is significant,
as we have good reason to believe she
will pass her human-taught sign language
abilities on to the next generation
— without our intervention. If
this "cultural transmission"
takes place, not only will scientists
be busy publishing articles about the
origins of language, but there will
be future little gorilla ambassadors
— spokespersons — to help
ensure the survival of their own species.
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Learn More
| Donate
Now |
A Message from Koko |
The
Significance of Project Koko |
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