Koko the gorilla, who is said to have been able to communicate by using more than 1,000 hand signs, has died in California at the age of 46. Here she is on BBC News in 1985, with her kitten friend. | BBC Archive

29K views · 657 reactions | Koko, the "talking gorilla" died Thursday at the research center in California where she had lived most of her life. The lowland gorilla was 46. The Gorilla Foundation, founded after she proved remarkable communication skills, said the big ape "touched the lives of millions" and was "an ambassador for all gorillas." | KCCI | Facebook

Humans are naturally able to understand many of the signs - or gestures - that wild chimpanzees and bonobos use to communicate with one another, new research suggests. | BBC News

Movies are full of loquacious apes, but could chimpanzees and gorillas ever learn to use language? NPR's Skunk Bear sorts through the disturbing history of research on ape language to sort fact from wishful thinking. | NPR