Koko the Gorilla and the Kitten Who Proved Animal Love is Real

In 1983, Koko the gorilla, already famous for her remarkable ability to communicate using American Sign Language, astonished her trainers by making a specific request: she wanted a cat for Christmas.

Her trainers initially responded by giving her a plush toy cat. Far from celebrating the gift, Koko clearly demonstrated her disappointment. She repeatedly signed the word “sad,” communicating with unmistakable clarity that the stuffed animal was not what she had intended. This moment underscored the gorilla’s genuine capacity for expressing complex emotions and precise desires.

The following year, determined to honor her deep-seated request, the trainers decided to allow Koko to choose a real kitten for her birthday. Given access to a litter, Koko demonstrated her gentle nature and carefully selected a small, gray-and-white tailless kitten, which she affectionately named All Ball.

From the moment she adopted the kitten, their bond captured global attention and became one of the most famous examples of animal emotion ever recorded. Koko treated All Ball with extreme tenderness, cradling her, meticulously grooming her, and carrying her protectively as if the kitten were her own baby.

Koko’s interactions were far from trained behaviors seeking a reward; they were expressions of genuine attachment, intention, preference, sadness, and joy. This extraordinary cross-species relationship profoundly altered how many people viewed animal intelligence and emotional depth, providing undeniable evidence that the capacity for deep, unconditional love and complex emotional connection is not an exclusively human trait.