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Gorilla Signs Request for Surgery
« on: 2004-08-10 14:46:50 » |
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Gorilla Signs Request for Surgery
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040809/koko.html
Aug. 9, 2004 — Koko, a 33-year-old gorilla that was taught to communicate using American Sign Language, recently told her caregivers that she desired oral surgery to remove an aching tooth, which was extracted with success on Sunday.
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Slater said Koko's caregivers created a chart ontaining the numbers one through 10 with corresponding amounts of dots, as the gorilla responds to visual information.
Over the past several days, the researchers asked the gorilla on a daily basis to communicate her level of tooth pain.
"Sometimes the pain was rated a two or a three just after Koko was given medication," said Slater. "She then rated the pain as a seven and then an eight. We gave her the choice of having more medication or an operation, and Koko communicated that she desired the operation."
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When asked if she wished to meet her doctors before the procedure, Koko said yes. On Sunday, a medical team consisting of doctors and veterinarians volunteered to examine the over 300-pound gorilla.
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Slater said Koko remained calm throughout the exam and even beckoned one of the doctors, who was wearing red, to come closer. Slater explained that Koko's favorite color is red.
The gorilla then signed that she wished to see the doctor's business card, which Koko examined before eating it.
"She didn’t eat anything before the surgery, so my guess is that she was very hungry," said Slater, who added that Koko now is eating baby food and doing fine, save for a bit of tooth pain.
Since the foundation was established in 1976, Koko has learned to sign over 1,000 words and she understands over 2,000 words.
According to her caregivers, the gorilla has a tested IQ of between 70-95 on a human scale, where 100 is considered "normal." Koko's companion Michael had a vocabulary of 600 words before he died four years ago.
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