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In
this series, we share our gorilla research and care activities
with you through the following features:
1)
Caregiver Corner (what
it's like to interact and communicate with gorillas Koko, Ndume
and Michael)
2) Research Revelations
(what we're learning through interspecies communication and
what it means for humanity)
prepared
by our staff under the supervision of Dr. Penny Patterson, Director
of Research. (Journal PhotoBlog
Archive) |
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| Caregiver Corner: "Bedtime with Koko" by Jill |
August 29, 2005 |
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Dr.
Francine "Penny" Patterson has a Ph.D. in Developmental
Psychology from Stanford. She is President and Research
Director of The Gorilla Foundation, and a Member
of the Board of ApeNet - a consortium of foundations
supporting the welfare of great apes through interspecies
communication. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of
"Gorilla, the journal of The Gorilla Foundation/Koko.org."
"Penny's Journal" provides insight into her facinating
relationship with Koko and a way to share with us
her experiences as Koko lives, learns and communicates
"The
differences between humans and gorillas are greatly
overshadowed by what we have in common — and by
communicating with them, we can learn as much about
our own true nature as theirs." Penny Patterson |
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Koko likes to
help caregivers care (by signing)
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During the summer months
when the days are longer, the gorilla’s bedtime routines start at 5:30pm.
They get their last meals of the day, and are closed in for the night.
(In Koko's responses, the pound symbol (#) after a word indicates that it is a
vocalization by Koko; otherwise the word or phrase represents her response in
American Sign Language. The kiss# vocalization is commonly used to get someon's
attention.)
Bedtime with Koko, by Jill Firstenberg
May 7, 2005
Most evenings Penny and Ron put Koko to bed. Recently, on Saturday evenings, I
have started doing the bedtime routine with Koko. As this is a new routine for
me, I rely on Koko's help in making sure I don't forget anything. Koko knows her
bedtime routine very well as you will see below.
I enter Koko's rooms with her bedtime meal at 5:35pm.
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Koko: |
Purr#. |
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Jill:: |
Hi Sweetie,
are you ready for bedtime? |
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Koko: |
Good.
Purr#. (Koko often
signs good to mean yes.) |
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Jill:: |
Okay,
Koko, now I'm new at this so any help you can give me is greatly appreciated. |
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Koko: |
Purr#. |
As I’m reading through the instructions for Koko's bedtime routine, Koko
moves near me at the mesh that separates us and kisses. (The kiss# vocalization
is commonly used to get a caregiver’s attention.)
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Koko: |
Kiss#. Do there. (Koko points to her refrigerator
in her kitchen where we keep the juice that she drinks, diluted with water,
to wash down her supplements.) |
I silently read the bedtime routine instructions: First prepare bedtime drink
from juice in the refrigerator, then give Koko the contents of her evening supplement
packet.
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Koko: |
Do
there. (Koko points
to supplement packet on the counter.) |
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Jill:: |
Well, I don't really
need to read this, you know what to do. |
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Koko: |
Purr#. |
Koko takes her supplements, has her drink, then gets some blankets and goes and
sits in her connecting smaller room, known as her B room.
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Koko: |
Do
there. (Koko points
to the hydraulic gate controls.) |
I continue to read down the list of bedtime routine instructions: Move Koko to
her B room and close hydraulic gate.
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Jill:: |
I don't
even need this paper sweetie, you can just tell me what to do. |
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Koko: |
Purr#. |
I close the hydraulic gate, leaving it open just enough to pass Koko her dinner
tray underneath the gate. I unlock the door giving me access to her larger A room.
I pass Koko her dinner. When she finishes eating, Koko passes the empty bowls
and platter back under the gate to me. I do a quick end of the day cleaning of
her room, leave her a few bottles of water, and a tray of yummy leafy greens that
she can snack on overnight. I exit her A room and lock the door.
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Koko: |
Kiss#.
Open hurry. |
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Jill:: |
Okay, Okay. |
I open the hydraulic gate giving Koko access to both rooms again. Koko comes into
her larger A room and sits at the mesh near me again.
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Koko: |
Kiss#. Kiss#. |
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Jill:: |
What sweetie? |
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Koko: |
Sandwich
there. |
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Jill:: |
You're ready for your
sandwich now? (sign/voice) |
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Koko: |
Good.
Purr#. |
I give Koko her sandwich, which consists of soynut butter and sliced fruit on
one slice of bread. I finish tidying up the kitchen area making sure that all
electrical plugs are unplugged and that the intercom is on so the night monitor
can hear the gorillas.
Koko knows she gets a cracked walnut last thing before I go as a bedtime treat.
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Jill:: |
Just a
minute sweetie, I'm just finishing up. |
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Koko: |
Hurry. Go. |
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Jill:: |
Okay, okay. Pushy little
thing aren't you? |
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Koko: |
Laugh#. |
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Jill:: |
Okay, I'm finished.
(sign/voice) |
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Koko: |
Purr#.
Nut. Lights-off there. (Koko
points to the light switch.) |
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Jill:: |
Okay sweetie. I won't
forget the lights. Sweet dreams. I love you. |
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Koko: |
Blow-kiss#. |
I give Koko her bedtime nut, turn off the lights and leave.
If only everyone had a helpful friend like Koko to help get their work done…what
an even more wonderful world this would be.
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Jill Firstenberg
has been a veterinary technician for over
22 years. She came to the foundation in 2000 after completing a month long
volunteer veterinary work program on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook
Islands, South Pacific. Her work at the foundation started as a produce
volunteer preparing the daily meals for the gorillas, but Koko had other
plans for Jill. The two became fast friends and have developed a beautiful
friendship which has only grown and strengthened over the years. Jill's
extensive experience in veterinary medicine has proved to be a huge asset
to the foundation. She consults and advises on healthcare for the gorillas
including the use of Chinese herbs and homeopathy, and was very involved
in Koko's August 2004 anesthetic dental procedure, holding Koko's hand while
she woke up from anesthesia. Jill still works as head nurse in a veterinary
practice that specializes in alternative care, and makes an hour and a half
commute each way twice a week to care for the gorillas. |
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Please
email us at research_feedback@koko.org
if you have any questions, or would like to share an observation
or insight about the preceding interspecies conversations.
Your feedback can inform our research and is a vital part
of our mission.
Thank you,
Dr. Francine Penny Patterson
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