The Gorilla Foundation said the 46-year-old western lowland gorilla died in her sleep at the foundation's preserve on Tuesday.
Koko was born at the San Francisco Zoo, and Dr Francine Patterson began teaching the gorilla sign language that became part of a Stanford University project in 1974.
According to Dr Patterson, Koko was able to understand more than 1,000 signs.
The foundation said Koko's capacity for language and empathy opened the minds and hearts of millions.
"Koko touched the lives of millions as an ambassador for all gorillas and an icon for interspecies communication," the Gorilla Foundation said in a statement."
Hmm?
Extinct gibbon discovered in ancient Chinese tomb first ape to vanish after the Ice Age
"The bones of the little animal are the first documented evidence of an ape that became extinct since the Ice Age, the international team reports today in the journal Science.
They say the disappearance of the ape was likely caused by human activity and suggests past human-caused losses of primates have been underestimated.
"It was thought that apes and most other primates have been relatively resilient to past human pressures on biodiversity," said Samuel Turvey from the Zoological Society of London.
"But this assumption reflects the fact that primate remains are rarely preserved in the archaeological record or recent fossil record across most of the tropics."
The Lady and the ape
"The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is named after Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise, as the scientists who described it are fans of the franchise.
One example is the 20 euro Baroque Silver coin issued on September 11, 2002.
The obverse side of the coin shows the Grand Staircase in the town palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy in Vienna, currently the Austrian Ministry of Finance.
"The bones of the little animal are the first documented evidence of an ape that became extinct since the Ice Age, the international team reports today in the journal Science.
They say the disappearance of the ape was likely caused by human activity and suggests past human-caused losses of primates have been underestimated.
"It was thought that apes and most other primates have been relatively resilient to past human pressures on biodiversity," said Samuel Turvey from the Zoological Society of London.
"But this assumption reflects the fact that primate remains are rarely preserved in the archaeological record or recent fossil record across most of the tropics."
"Dr Turvey came across the fossil in archaeological collections in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province in northwest China.
The bones had been excavated in 2004 from the royal tomb, which is believed to hold Lady Xia, grandmother of China's first emperor Qin Shihuang — who ordered the construction of the Great Wall and the terracotta warriors.
The bones had been excavated in 2004 from the royal tomb, which is believed to hold Lady Xia, grandmother of China's first emperor Qin Shihuang — who ordered the construction of the Great Wall and the terracotta warriors.
The tomb also contained the remains of a menagerie of animals from the local area including a leopard, lynx, Asiatic black bear, crane, domestic animals and birds.
Gibbons have featured in Chinese culture for thousands of years, where they were venerated as symbols of scholar officials — Junzi — and were kept as high-status pets.
Today, the small apes are found in pockets of forests in south-western China, 1,200 km away from the site of the tomb.
But historic accounts indicate gibbons lived in the Shaanxi region up until the 18th century."
"Compared to the other gibbons, Lady Xia's gibbon had a much steeper forehead, larger eye sockets and unique dental patterns such as large wisdom teeth.
They also compared the jawbone to extinct species that lived sometime during the Middle Pleistocene period up until 126,000 years ago during the Ice Age.
The fact that it didn't match any living or extinct ape meant not only was it a new species, but a new genus.
But, he added, it is impossible to tell where it may fit in the family tree without using more destructive techniques to sample DNA.
Gibbons have featured in Chinese culture for thousands of years, where they were venerated as symbols of scholar officials — Junzi — and were kept as high-status pets.
Today, the small apes are found in pockets of forests in south-western China, 1,200 km away from the site of the tomb.
But historic accounts indicate gibbons lived in the Shaanxi region up until the 18th century."
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| An extinct Gibbon?-) |
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| Fall of the Roman Empire? |
They also compared the jawbone to extinct species that lived sometime during the Middle Pleistocene period up until 126,000 years ago during the Ice Age.
The fact that it didn't match any living or extinct ape meant not only was it a new species, but a new genus.
But, he added, it is impossible to tell where it may fit in the family tree without using more destructive techniques to sample DNA.
While extinctions of primates such as lemurs and monkeys have been documented on islands since the Ice Age, this is the first extinction of a primate on a continent.
Two species of gibbon have recently become extinct in China leaving just four remaining species — all of which are listed as critically endangered.
But it's not all bad news. Last year Dr Turvey, Professor Helgen and colleagues announced the discovery of a new species of gibbon — Hoolock tianxing, dubbed the Skywalker gibbon." |
| Skywalker gibbon |
The specific name tianxingis the Pinyin transliteration of the Chinese terms ๅคฉ (tiฤn) meaning "heaven" and ่ก (xing) meaning "movement".
The name is a reference to brachiation, the main locomotory mode of gibbons, and derived from the text of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese book of divination."
The signs are looking pretty grim for all primates on the planet if we don't stop monkeying around with it, I think.
And may the Force be with you.
"Hercules was among the earliest figures on ancient Roman coinage, and has been the main motif of many collector coins and medals since.
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| I am a Rock? |
Gods and demi-gods hold its flights, while Hercules stands at the turn of the stairs."
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| I am an island? |
UPDATE: 22nd June, 2018
"Bonnie McEneaney McNamara had a long career in the financial services industry where, most recently, she was a Senior Vice President at MasterCard Worldwide.
She spent 21 years at MasterCard after beginning her career at American Express.
In 2006, Bonnie retired from corporate life to spend more time with her family and work on several 9/11-related initiatives.
Her late husband, Eamon McEneaney, a Cantor- Fitzgerald Executive and a legendary member of the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, was killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Bonnie is the author of the NY Times Bestseller, “Messages: Signs, Visits and Premonitions from Loved Ones Lost on 9/11” (Harper Collins) and was an Executive Producer of a television special based on her book for the A&E network: “Beyond: Messages from 9/11” that aired in 44 countries during the 10th anniversary week of 9/11.
“Messages” also made the NYT bestseller list for e-books and remains a leading seller for 9/11 books today.
She continues to speak on inspirational topics related to spirituality and bereavement and has begun work on a screenplay inspired by the book.
Additionally, Bonnie created a volume of her husband’s poetry: “A Bend in the Road” (Cornell University Press), which sold out its two printings.
Bonnie is a past recipient of the YWCA Woman of the Year award and is a Board Member of Voices of September 11th.
Bonnie received her BA in International Relations from Brown University and an MPS from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.
Her Facebook page is Messages: Signs, Visits and Premonitions from Loved Ones Lost on 9/11."
Coincidence or what I ask?
The Improbability Principle: What are the Odds?
Coincidence or what I ask?
Carol Bowman has worked with some of those 9-11 souls who have returned already. Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good book.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Bonnie and her story until listening to Bernie's podcast today.
I'll have to keep an eye out for the movie she is currently writing a script for.
Or maybe I should have written that I'll keep a heads up for this tale(tail)
?-)