Koko The Gorilla Communication

After rolling out of bed from a deep comfortable sleep, John mosys downstairs for his morning cup of joe. As he sits down at the kitchen table, he pulls out the morning paper and begins to read. After a little bit, he starts to feels a presence, he lowers his paper, and there at his feet, is Duke, his two year old mastiff. “What’s up pup?” John says jokingly. Duke continues to stare him down without movement. This concerns John, since Duke would usually be licking John’s hands and wagging his tail by now. John tries, but he just can’t read the signs, to find out what is bothering duke. Duke is trying to communicate with John with little luck. But, through latest scientific advances, research projects, and knowing animal’s mannerisms,
we know how they communicate, and how this information might help John understand what Duke is trying to say. Scientific advances and years of training have allowed dogs to lie completely still during MRI. This allows scientists to see and understand how the canine brain works in reaction to different stimulants. hey played recordings of three different human emotions; crying, laughing, and shouting. Then played recordings of three different canine mannerisms; barking angrily, whining, and yipping playfully. The dogs all responded more to happier sounds than angry, or sad sounds. The dogs primary auditory cortex were more responsive when listening to happier noises over the other sounds. Neuroscientist and psychologist Pascal Belin of the University of Glasgow in Scotland cautions that, “those areas may respond to acoustical differences in the sounds, not the emotion itself.” (Sanders). Which basically means, that the dogs may be reacting to the different levels of sound being portrayed, and not to the actual emotion behind the sound. Animals communicate in many unique ways, and researches have been trying to expand on that with their most successful research project being Koko the gorilla.
Koko, the gorilla was raised in a seven-acre yard in California by a team of caregivers. As a research project, in 1972 Dr. Francine Patterson began to teach Koko sign language. To communicate, Koko uses cards, books, and magazines, she also uses her motor skills, including highlighting and high fiving. She is very stubborn, which is why it is hard for scientists to demonstrate her intelligence. Koko did demonstrate her intelligence though, without even realizing it. She had requested that, "Visit Love Tiger Cat". A caregiver brought Koko kittens, Koko picked a gray tabby that had been born with no tail and named it All Ball. Her wish for a kitten was one of many glimpses that Koko has given us of the inner lives of gorillas, and how similar their brains actually are to ours. Dr. Patterson, who has the closest relationship with Koko explains that, "We are also primates, and we are very, very similar to our closest biological relatives, and those would be the great apes, their cognitive abilities, their emotional capabilities are virtually the same" (Boyels). Which is why Koko was a great choice for this study. She shares close to the same intelligence as a human, and is a great test subject for furthering the thought of human to animal
communication. Pets communicate with their bodies all the time, but it isn’t always clear knowing what they are trying to say.
Behaviour in pets can tell you a lot about what they are feeling, and they’re different mannerisms can help you find out what they need. And this is how humans and their pets coexist in a household. For instance; Which way a dog wags its tail and the speed in which he does it, can tell what he is feeling, depending on the situation it’s in. British anthrozoologist John Bradshaw in Cat Sense states that, "An upright tail is probably the clearest way cats show their affection for us" (McCaffery). A raised tail is also usually a sign of friendliness toward another cat. The opposite, of course, is when cats lower and thrash their tails. It generally means they're irritated and dislike something that's occurring around them. The relationship you form with your pets is something only you two share. Different ways dogs and cats let themselves be heard in a household, is original to that particular household. And it forms a human to pet connection that only you two
experience. Communication is key in a relationship no matter if it’s human to human or human to pet. We are now able to know what our pets are saying through the help of scientific advances, research projects, and knowing animal’s mannerisms. Animals have a funny way of showing their emotions, but we can figure out what they are feeling by reading their body language. And with the help of MRI’s and our trained canine companions, we now know what is happening up in that happy little head of theirs. So next time your dog is blankly staring you down, try really getting to know what he’s trying to tell you.