Have you ever heard of a gorilla that could talk to people using sign language, played with kittens, made jokes, knew how to drive a car, and understood more than 1,000 words? And what if I told you that this gorilla thought about death and even left a chilling message for the world before she passed away forever? Today, I will tell you the amazing story of Koko—the gorilla who made us rethink the boundary between human and animal intelligence. On July 4, 1971, Independence Day in the United States, a baby gorilla was born at the San Francisco Zoo. She was given the name Hanabi-Ko, which means "fireworks child" in Japanese. Later, her name was shortened to the simple "Koko." At that time, no one could have imagined that this little gorilla would one day change our understanding of what animals are capable of. Koko’s childhood was not easy. When she was still a baby, she got sick and had to be separated from her mother for treatment. When Koko was finally returned to her mother, the mother rejected her and refused to accept her as her baby. The little gorilla was left alone in a cage with other gorillas that were strangers to her. But fate had something special planned for her. In 1972, a young student from Stanford University named Francine Patterson, who was called Penny by everyone, decided to take care of Koko. Penny was working on her PhD research about communication with great apes and wanted to teach a gorilla sign language. At that time, gorillas were not considered very intelligent compared to other primates. People also thought they were aggressive, so scientists were not eager to interact with them. But Penny’s experiment completely changed this idea. The beginning of Koko’s training was not easy. When humans learn sign language, the instructor can usually guide the student's hands into the correct positions. But Koko did not allow anyone to touch her. So Penny had to show Koko an object and then demonstrate the sign for it—over and over again. But it turned out that Koko had an amazing ability to learn. The first sign she showed Penny was for "drink"—one finger touching her lips while the others were bent. Over time, a real friendship developed between the scientist and the gorilla. Koko was even moved from the zoo to a special trailer-laboratory on the university grounds. The gorilla had her own room but was allowed to go into all areas, including Penny’s room. For safety, there was a cage in the trailer, but it was never needed. By the time Koko was three years old, she could confidently use about 200 words in sign language. She not only learned the names of objects but could also express her emotions. When Koko was shown a picture of another ape that was about to take a bath (and Koko did not like bathing), she signed: "I cry there." When she saw a horse with a bridle in its mouth, the clever gorilla immediately signed: "Horse sad, teeth." The most amazing thing was that Koko not only understood and used sign language but also had a real sense of humor. One time, she called herself a "good bird" and claimed she could fly, then admitted it wasn’t true—she was joking! Another time, she pulled Penny’s hair and then, laughing, signed an apology. This showed that Koko had what scientists call "theory of mind"—the ability to understand that other beings have their own thoughts and feelings that are different from her own. If Koko did not know the name of an object, she invented her own by combining familiar words. For example, the ring that Penny wore, Koko called a "finger bracelet." Isn’t that logical? After all, a ring really does look like a bracelet for a finger. This kind of linguistic creativity appeared in other situations as well. When she first saw a mask, she called it an "eye hat." When she looked into a cup that had no water in it, she signed "drink no." This ability to create new words showed that Koko was not just memorizing signs but truly understood their meaning. She could creatively combine signs to describe new concepts. Skeptics said that Doctor Patterson was simply training Koko like a circus animal. But the facts proved otherwise. When Koko was alone, she played with her dolls and had long conversations with them using sign language. She even tried to communicate in sign language with other animals, and when she did not receive a response, she switched to inanimate objects. Such behavior is difficult to explain as simple training. According to different IQ tests, Koko’s intelligence was estimated to be between 70 and 90 points. This is lower than the average human IQ but still an astonishing result for an animal. She could draw at the level of a four-year-old child, depicting her favorite toys and the world around her. Koko even had a "boyfriend"—a male gorilla named Michael, who was also taught several words in sign language. Later, another male gorilla named Ndume joined them. Together, they formed the first pair of animals in the world that could communicate using human language. And they used sign language for more than just trading bananas! When Michael tore the leg off Koko’s doll, she became very upset and called him "dirty bad toilet." One of the most touching stories in Koko’s life was her friendship with kittens. On her birthday in 1984, she asked her caretakers to give her a cat as a gift. The caretakers brought her several stray kittens to choose from. Koko carefully examined each one and decided to keep a small gray kitten without a tail. She named him All Ball. Koko took care of the kitten as if he were her own baby. She gently carried him on her back, hugged him, and even tried to nurse him. Despite her large size, the gorilla was incredibly careful with her tiny pet, making sure not to hurt him. Unfortunately, later that same year, the kitten escaped from the enclosure and was hit by a car. Koko’s reaction to the loss of her beloved pet shocked even experienced scientists. When she was told this sad news, she first seemed to be in shock. She sat quietly, as if she had not heard anything. Then she began to make soft moaning sounds—deep, sorrowful noises that gorillas use to express grief. She made signs indicating sadness, furrowed her brows, and used the words "sad" and "bad." Pressing her hands to her cheek—the sign for "sleep"—she repeatedly signed "sleep cat," as if trying to accept that her friend had "fallen asleep forever." After All Ball’s death, Penny noticed that Koko continued making sounds similar to human crying for several days. She refused to play and kept repeating the sign for "sad." This ability to experience loss and express grief made Koko even more similar to a human. In the years that followed, Koko had new pet kittens. On her 44th birthday, she received two new kittens, which she named Miss Black and Miss Gray after their fur colors. Videos of the enormous gorilla gently stroking a tiny kitten became viral on the internet, touching and amazing people all over the world. Koko was known not only for her intelligence but also for her personal habits and peculiarities. For example, she had an unusual obsession with the human chest. She showed a strange interest in this part of the body and sometimes used gestures to express her desire to see it. In 2005, three caregivers who worked with Koko even filed a lawsuit, claiming that they were forced to fulfill this unusual request from the gorilla, which was expressed in sign language. Koko had an incredible sense of self-awareness. By the age of 19, she successfully passed the mirror self-recognition test. Unlike most gorillas, who see their reflection as another gorilla, Koko immediately recognized herself. She was often seen looking at her reflection, which was evidence of her extraordinary self-awareness. She loved watching movies, and her favorite film was «Tea with Mussolini». Every time she watched the saddest scene in the movie—the moment when the young boy says goodbye to his family—Koko would turn away so she wouldn’t get upset. The film «Jurassic Park», which featured dinosaurs, impressed her so much that she became afraid to approach her toy dinosaurs. All of this demonstrated the depth of Koko’s emotional world. Koko’s fame grew every year. Her photograph with All Ball appeared on the cover of «National Geographic» magazine, becoming one of the most popular images in the history of the publication. Many celebrities visited to meet the extraordinary gorilla. Among them was comedian Robin Williams, with whom Koko developed a warm relationship. There is a touching video recording of their meeting, where Koko tries to put on Williams’ glasses, invites him to tickle her, and the two of them make funny faces together. When Williams tragically passed away in 2014, Koko became noticeably sad after hearing the news and walked around looking downcast all day. Koko not only communicated in sign language but also learned to use a special computer with symbols, which allowed her to "type" words, and the computer would then speak them aloud. She also learned how to draw and write simple symbols—she could hold a pen, select options from a menu on paper, or create basic drawings. Amazingly, Koko even learned to play musical instruments, such as the harmonica, toy flutes, and even a simple recorder. In 2012, scientists were astonished to observe Koko blowing into a recorder and producing sounds—an achievement that was previously thought to be impossible for primates due to the structure of their respiratory system. One of the most mysterious aspects of Koko’s personality was her attitude toward the concept of death. One day, a caregiver showed her a skeleton and asked whether it was alive or dead. Koko responded with the sign for "dead." When asked where dead gorillas go, Koko calmly replied, "comfortable hole" and then blew a goodbye kiss. This made many people wonder just how deeply the gorilla understood the idea of death. In the final years of her life, Koko became a kind of ambassador for nature. She urged people to take care of the planet and other animals. "Nature is watching you," she signed, which sounded somewhat ominous but made people think. It was as if she felt responsible for all her fellow gorillas who remained in the wild. On June 19, 2018, just a few weeks before her 47th birthday, Koko peacefully passed away in her sleep. Her death was mourned by millions of people around the world, for whom she had become a symbol of interspecies friendship and understanding. The «Gorilla Foundation», which was created to support the work with Koko, stated that "her legacy will live on, shaping our understanding of the emotional and cognitive abilities of gorillas." But before leaving this world, Koko left humanity with a chilling message. As if possessing deep knowledge of human history, she gave us words that force us to reflect on the very essence of the relationship between humans and nature… I am Gorilla … I am flowers, animals … I am Nature. Man Koko love. Earth Koko love. But Man stupid … … Koko cry. Fix Earth! Help Earth! … Nature see you. Thank you.