There's plenty of animals that can communicate. But true linguistic mastery in the animal kingdom is harder to pin down.
At the same time, Koko’s use of language has been questioned by many experts. Graham Turner, a professor of translation and interpreting studies at Heriot Watt University, concluded that sign language is too complex for other great apes to truly master.in an interview published on the occasion of Koko’s death in 2018, “close inspection of filmed data has repeatedly shown trainers prompting them, and then questionably interpreting separate responses as signed sentences.
claiming Koko’s caregivers - under the pretext of interpreting the animal’s signs - repeatedly asked them to flash their breasts. At the time, animal experts were quick to attest that gorillas are not known to fixate on nipples.The ambiguity surrounding Koko does not prove animals are incapable of acquiring language. Instead, Koko’s story serves as a reminder that we should be careful about how we define “language” when working with animals.
The ability to communicate specific information is not restricted to mammals but actually extends to the realm of insects as well. Bees use what beekeepers call ato share the location of and distance to a food source with other bees. Other insect species like ants talk via pheromones, which they leave behind to help each other find their way to their respective colonies.