Gorilla Foundation
USA (California) · 37.43°N · 122.25°W
Using decades of interspecies communication to protect gorillas and improve how they are cared for.
About Gorilla Foundation
The Gorilla Foundation, known for its work with the gorilla Koko, advances great ape conservation through communication, research and education.
For nearly five decades the Gorilla Foundation has explored what gorillas can tell us when given the means to communicate, most famously through its long-running work with Koko, Michael and Ndume. That work revealed how much these animals share with us emotionally and cognitively, and it underpins the foundation's belief that empathy is a powerful route to conservation.
The problem it addresses is twofold: gorillas remain at risk of extinction in the wild, and many in captivity live in conditions that fall short of their needs. The foundation responds with a programme built around connection rather than distance, summed up in its guiding idea of conservation through communication.
Its work spans four areas. A research effort is digitising and analysing decades of unique interspecies data, an education programme engages young people worldwide in helping gorillas in Africa, a sign-language app builds the capacity to communicate with great apes, and a care strand develops better models for gorillas living under human care, including an offline tool for communities with limited connectivity.
The foundation argues that if empathy and understanding can be shared widely, protecting gorillas becomes achievable. Support helps fund its research, education and care work and the wider goal of giving these remarkable animals a more secure future.
KokoArc
Digitising fifty years of Koko's communication records to benefit great apes everywhere.
KokoKids
Connecting young people to the work of helping save gorillas in Africa.
Koko Signs App
Helping people learn sign language inspired by Koko to communicate with great apes.
KokoCares
Developing better care for gorillas in zoos and sanctuaries, with more choice and connection.
Be part of the movement
Donating is the last step, not the first. Pick one and start today.
- 1WatchStream the films and stories behind their work, then tell someone what moved you.Watch →
- 2FollowFollow Gorilla Foundation on Instagram and keep their work in your feed.Follow ↗
- 3ShareShare this page so more people meet Gorilla Foundation. Reach is its own kind of donation.
- 4Donate100% of your gift routes to Gorilla Foundation's conservation work. Ecoflix takes nothing.Donate →