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News
Koko The Gorilla Makes Return Visit To Cyberspace For Special AOL Holiday Webcast
KoKo and Her Teacher to Use Sign Language to Communicate with
Worldwide Web Audience Through AOL and AOL.COM
Online Event to Help Raise Funds for Koko's New Hawaii Home
Through Shop@AOL, Helping.org and Koko.org
November 27, 2000 - Dulles, VA -- One of AOL's most popular guests is making
a return visit to cyberspace just in time for the holidays! America Online,
Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and the Gorilla
Foundation, in cooperation with Target, are proud to present a truly unique,
inter-species chat and Webcast with Koko the Gorilla on Wednesday, November
29th at 6:00pm, EDT. This very special event will be available to AOL
members at AOL Keyword: AOL Live and to all Internet users on AOL.COM under
"People & Chat" and through AOL's interactive brands.
As the first gorilla to master sign language and inter-species
communications, Koko is again breaking new ground on the Internet. She was
the first gorilla to participate in an online chat on AOL in April 1998,
which remains one of the most popular events in AOL history, and now she is
using the Internet to reach out to an even larger audience through the
worldwide Webcast on November 29. As part of the event, Koko will
communicate with children and netizens about her plans to celebrate the
upcoming season, including her favorite festive foods, who she will spend the
holidays with and what gifts she hopes to give and get. She will also talk
about how she has joined the e-commerce revolution by shopping online with
her caregiver, Dr. Francine "Penny" Patterson. Additionally, a special Koko
content area will feature a photo gallery, links to Koko.org and links to
Helping.org.
Dr. Penny Patterson, who will present questions to Koko and relay her signed
responses during the Webcast said: "The Internet is all about communications.
And now, through this unprecedented online event, Koko will be able to
communicate with her millions of fans around the world through realtime video
and chat. Koko has always been ambassador for her species, and with this
event she even furthering her role as a communications pioneer."
Online Event to Help Raise Funds for Maui Gorilla Sanctuary
To give Koko the greatest present of all this holiday season, the Webcast
will also serve to help raise money for the development of Koko's new home --
The Allan G. Sanford Sanctuary, a unique refuge for gorillas on Maui, Hawaii.
The Gorilla Foundation is currently seeking financial support to complete
development of the sanctuary, which will provide the most suitable
environment in the United States for Koko and her family to live, play and
raise offspring.
In the spirit of the holiday season, Webcast participants can choose to
support the Maui Preserve Project in two ways. First, the Koko content area
[AOL Keyword: Koko] will offer links to the philanthropy portal Helping.org,
where fans can donate money online at no cost to the Gorilla Foundation. Or,
participants can purchase select gifts and other Koko items though Shop@AOL,
the company's online shopping destination, and a portion of the proceeds will
go to the Maui project. Shop@AOL will feature items from the Gorilla
Foundation/koko.org and Target.com, including Koko Plush dolls and Nature's
Documentary "A Conversation with Koko."
"AOL is thrilled to work with The Gorilla Foundation once again to bring
Koko's
message to our 25 million members and millions of other Internet users," said
Jonathan Sacks, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the AOL service.
"We're especially pleased that the Gorilla Foundation is embracing the
online medium as an important awareness and donation tool, and working with
us to bring a focus to charitable giving during the holiday season."
Koko Webcast to Kick Off Holiday Programming Specials on AOL
KoKo's chat will kick off a season of special holiday programming on the AOL
service. At AOL Keyword: Winter Holiday, members can access a wealth of
holiday content to help make the season more more joyous and less stressful.
From electronic greetings to great gift suggestions, and from party planning
tips to local Yuletide festivities, AOL has brought together the very best
holiday ideas and information for its members of all ages. For the young and
young at heart, AOL has brought back favorite offerings such as "Write to
Santa," allowing members can send their holiday wish lists to Santa. This
year, AOL will host NORAD's "Santa Tracker," which uses state-of-the-art
technology to track Santa's journey from the North Pole
About the Gorilla Foundation
Born in 1971 at the San Francisco Zoo, Koko learned to communicate with
people under the tutelage of Dr. Francine "Penny" Patterson. Using American
Sign Language, Koko has demonstrated over 1,000 signs and has a working
vocabulary of about 500 gestures. She also understands approximately 2,000
words of spoken English. The Gorilla Foundation (www.koko.org) was
established in 1976 to promote the protection, preservation and propagation
of gorillas. Project Koko, which began in 1972, is a primary focus of the
Foundation. The project involves teaching a modified form of American sign
language to Koko, a female western lowland gorilla,and The Gorilla Foundation
is also home to Ndume, a male western lowland gorilla.
Dr. Patterson's work with Koko for over 25 years is the world's longest
uninterrupted interspecies communication project and the only one that
involves gorillas.
About America Online, Inc.
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the
world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies
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