Koko the gorilla has an on-line chat -- reluctantly

Koko the gorilla with her translator, Dr. Francine Patterson

April 28, 1998
Web posted at: 12:03 a.m. EDT (0403 GMT)

SAN FRANCISCO (CNN) -- As many as 20,000 people logged in to chat with Koko the gorilla who answered questions in what was called the first ever "interspecies chat" on the Internet.

Dr. Francine Patterson, Koko's tutor and translator, signed questions to the 26-year-old gorilla who has studied American Sign Language for 25 years and is said to understand some 2,000 words of spoken English and 1,000 signs.

When asked if she had a kitten or a dog, Koko signed dog. When asked if she watched TV, Patterson said only the Public Broadcasting Service. Koko answered, "Think."

Human chatters had questions ranging from the meaning of life to her views of the new version of King Kong.

The 300-pound Koko seemed unimpressed by the event and ended the online chat with the simple command, "Lights off. Good."

CNN Community:

• Message Board: Koko the gorilla to take part in Internet 'chat'

Related sites:

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• PBS Online
• American Sign Language Linguistic Research Project

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