Meet Koko
Meet Koko

Saving Gorillas from extinction through interspecies communication!

Conservation through Communication

MISSION AND PROJECTS
Install the "Koko Signs" AppLearn to Sign with KokoLearn to Sign with Koko:Get the App

Mission



The Gorilla Foundation is best known for conducting the longest interspecies communication study in history (almost 5 decades) and the only one involving gorillas: Project Koko.  Our mission, Conservation through Communication applies the results and lessons of interspecies communication (with gorillas Koko, Michael and Ndume) to save gorillas from extinction in the wild, dramatically improve their care in captivity, and continue our exciting dialogue with Nature.  Everyone can learn to sign, and all gorillas are Kokos, and these 2 realizations make saving the great apes both a worthwhile and highly reachable goal. Please join us and expedite the process!

Projects

Who is Koko?
Research
KokoArc
Digitizing and analyzing 5 decades of unique interspecies communication data for the benefit of captive and free-living great apes.
Education
KokoKids
Kids4Koko brings together students from all over the world to learn from Koko and become voices for Nature.
Empathy
KokoApp
The Koko Signs app will enable everyone to learn sign language from Koko and help make communication with great apes ubiquitous.
Sanctuary
KokoCares
KokoCares is a program to design better ways to care for gorillas in zoos and sanctuaries, giving them both autonomy and language.

Progress

  • The Koko Signs App Goes to Africa, Part 1
    Kids4Koko
    This is our first experiment taking the Koko Signs phone app to Cameroon, Africa, to see how effective it is as a conservation education tool.  The above video is just a glimpse of the first day of a […]
    Read More
  • KokoApp: Offline Mode
    KokoApp
    In order to make it easy for people who live near gorillas in Africa, with slow internet connection speeds, view Koko Signs app videos properly, we added a special “offline mode” to the […]
    Read More
  • Gorilla-centric Sanctuaries
    KokoCares
    What if captive gorillas could live in relative freedom? We’re working on a new kind of “gorilla-centric” sanctuaries that could be the preferred alternative of everyone who cares […]
    Read More
logo Meet Koko
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Koko has given humanity the gift of “talking with the animals” for more than four decades now.

It’s time for other gorillas to
learn from Koko…

They can all be Voices for Nature!

All Gorillas are Kokos

Koko passed away in her sleep on June 18, 2018 just 2 weeks before her 47th birthday on July 4th. She lived a full and loving life, and has been mourned by millions of people around the world — a process that continues to this day.

Honoring Koko

5th grade teacher

“When we think of saving the Earth, we can't help but think of Koko!"

A 6-year old boy

“All gorillas are Kokos”

How you can help

The Gorilla Foundation’s efforts to give captive gorillas more freedom, and save free-living gorillas from extinction are largely supported by individual donors like you.  Please consider making a donation — one-time or monthly — by using the orange Donate button below.  Or use the blue Shop button to purchase some of our exclusive educational products, like Koko books, plush dolls or limited edition “gorilla art” prints of the amazing paintings created by Koko and Michael.

If you need more information before donating or shopping, simply Subscribe to our weekly Koko Video eNewsletter to learn more about why we do what we do and how.  Or email us your questions via the Contact Us button below.

We’re beginning our 6th decade of an interspecies communication journey that is continuing to achieve “Conservation through Communication” — Koko’s Legacy — on an increasing basis!

Gorillas are more like us than we ever imagined, and by helping them we are helping ourselves by allowing our incredibly enlightening interspecies dialogue to continue.

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