Redwood City, CA – March 24, 2010 —The Gorilla Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on interspecies communication, and home to Koko the famous lowland gorilla, is using social media networks to great success. Through the use of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, for example, Koko’s daily experiences, thoughts and feelings are being conveyed to her worldwide supporters in real-time.

“More than ever, we need to be sharing information virtually, where Koko’s fan base and animal lovers of all kinds can gather online every day to effect change,” said Gary Stanley, director of Education Technology and project manager for the Maui Ape Preserve. “Koko has clearly communicated to us that she has three wishes: to one day have a baby of her own, to complete and ‘hurry-go’ to the sanctuary on Maui and for people to be more ‘polite’ to gorillas. We feel a sense of urgency to fulfill her wishes, and we believe that leveraging the power of social networking tools will be critical in making this happen.”

Koko, the famous lowland gorilla, communicates with us through American Sign Language (ASL), and has a vocabulary of over 1300 words.

	Sample Koko Facebook Posting

Join Us Online
The Gorilla Foundation and Koko invite you to join in on the power and the fun by becoming a Facebook fan, following us on Twitter and enjoying KokoFlix on YouTube.

Maui Ape Preserve (MAP)
The Gorilla Foundation is taking a vital step toward saving the gorilla species from extinction with construction of the Maui Ape Preserve (MAP). MAP will serve as a sanctuary for not only Koko, but also other gorillas from all over the world and provide a natural environment for Koko to raise a baby. The preserve will also educate people on the important lessons learned from interspecies communication to help promote the Gorilla Foundation’s mission of conservation through communication.

About The Gorilla Foundation

The Gorilla Foundation is dedicated to the preservation, protection and well being of gorillas through interspecies communication research and education: Conservation through Communication. The foundation was established in 1976 and is best known for its groundbreaking work with two western lowland gorillas, Koko and Michael, who were taught to become fluent in American Sign Language. The results are published in numerous research papers, books and videos available in our bibliography.

The Gorilla Foundation's current goals include: 1) establishing the Maui Ape Preserve — the first tropical gorilla sanctuary outside of Africa; 2) saving gorillas from extinction by extending the empathy created through interspecies communication worldwide; and 3) helping Koko fulfill her wish of having a baby, so that she can transmit her language skills to the next generation and thus ensure that there will always be a gorilla ambassador who can speak to us in our own language. We still have much to learn from this critically endangered sentient species.

The Gorilla Foundation is a non-profit 501c3 corporation and is underwritten by donations from individuals, grants from foundations and corporations, and educational product sales.

The Foundation receives no support from government sources: You can help by making a donation online!