Did you know that humans aren't the only species that use language Bees communicate by dancing. Whales talk to each other by singing. And some apes talk to humans by using American Sign Language. Meet Koko: a female gorilla born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4th, 1971. Koko learned sign language from her trainer, Dr. Penny Patterson. Patterson began teaching sign language to Koko in 1972, when Koko was one year old. In 1974 Koko and her trainer moved to the Stanford University campus. Dr. Patterson says that Koko knows over 1,000 words, and that Koko makes up new words. For example, Koko didn't know the sign for ring, so she signed the words finger and bracelet. Sign language isn't the only unusual thing about Koko. She's also been a pet-owner. In 1983, at the age of 12, researchers said that Koko asked for a cat for Christmas. They gave Koko a toy cat. Koko was not happy. She did not play with it, and she continued to sign sad. So for her birthday in 1984, Dr. Patterson allowed Koko to pick up a cat from the street. She picked up a gray cat and named him "All Ball." Dr. Patterson said that Koko loved All Ball as though he was a baby gorilla. Sadly, All Ball got out of Koko's cage and was hit by a car. Koko lives in Gorilla foundation today. As for the future, Dr. Patterson and the Gorilla Foundation would love to get Koko to an ape preserve in Maui, but they are having financial troubles. So unless you have a few million dollars to spare, Koko's going to be spending her time in Woodland, California with Dr. Patterson. Koko probably doesn't mind that. If she moved to Hawaii, she'd have to give up her Facebook page and Twitter feed, and she's got like 50 thousand "likes."