A gorilla called Koko - who became widely-known for her ability to learn sign language - may be capable of speech, U.S. researchers say.

While most traditional findings highlight the perception that humans are the only primates able to speak, a team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say that gorillas may have the cognitive capacity and breathing control to make sounds beyond grunts and other instinctive noises.

By analyzing hours of footage taken of Koko, who has spent more than 40 years living immersed with humans, the researchers say that they have found her “performing nine different, voluntary behaviors that required control over her vocalization and breathing.”

Gorilla lingo

“These were learned behaviors, not part of the typical gorilla repertoire,” according to the article released earlier this week on the university’s website.

Researcher Marcus Perlman, said that “[Koko] shows the potential under the right environmental conditions for apes to develop quite a bit of flexible control over their vocal tract. It’s not as fine as human control, but it is certainly control.”

While Koko’s vocal capabilities are currently limited to actions such as “blowing a raspberry” when wanting a treat and coughing on command, the team hope they may be able to train her to produce a wider variety of communication.

Koko can also play the flute – albeit crudely.

“Presumably, she is no more gifted than other gorillas,” said Perlman. “The difference is just her environmental circumstances. You obviously don’t see things like this in wild populations.”

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:44 - GMT 06:44