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Everyone knows who Koko the gorilla that speaks sign language is. For her birthday one year, she signed to her teacher that she wanted a kitten. Koko’s teacher wasn’t surprised, as Koko’s two favorite books were about cats. They adopted one from an abandoned litter and Koko showed it tender care and gentleness.

Sadly, Koko was all broken up by the recent death of her kitten. To describe her sorrow, she would often use the signs for “sad” and “frown.”