Koko - The Gorilla Who Talks

Now Streaming

Explore the story of Penny Patterson and Koko the gorilla.

Now Streaming

Explore the story of Penny Patterson and Koko the gorilla.

Providing Support for PBS.org

About the Show

In 1971, Penny Patterson, a graduate student at Stanford University, met Koko, a newborn gorilla in the San Francisco Zoo. Penny had grown up wanting to communicate with animals and decided to teach Koko sign language in hopes of finally crossing the boundary between animals and humans.

However, what started out as a scientific experiment evolved into a love story that, for almost half a century, has both challenged the way we think about animals and changed the course of many lives.

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