Just in case you thought Koko had been distracted from her life-long dream of being a mother by her creative and educational caregivers, we assure you she remains very much interested in having a baby. Playing and being affectionate with certain dolls, signing “love” and “baby” to these dolls, and just telling us she wants a baby are pretty direct signals to us that this is the case. And we remain very much engaged in helping her attain this goal.
Besides the obvious scientific benefits of observing cultural transmission of a human-taught language in gorillas (this has already been observed in chimpanzees thank to Project Washoe), there is the simple pleasure it will bring to Koko, and hence to all who know her.
