Michael The Gorilla Dies

Animal lovers are in mourning after the death of Michael, a Western lowland gorilla who was one of two gorillas in the world to understand sign language, according to his handlers.

The 27-year-old, 450-pound gorilla was said to have mastered more than 600 gestures in American Sign Language at the time of his death Wednesday, though animal experts disagree on the ability of gorillas to use human language.

Michael was one of three gorillas housed at The Gorilla Foundation, a preserve located 25 miles south of San Francisco. Michael's caregiver saw him collapse onto his back in a play area just before 11 a.m. and noticed the animal had labored breathing. He died shortly after.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend Michael. He has been an inspiration to us all. He had a great facility with gestural communication and was a talented artist," said Francine Patterson, the foundation's president.

Patterson is credited with teaching the more famous gorilla Koko, Michael's lifelong friend, more than 1,000 ASL gestures. Patterson began working with Koko when the gorilla was one year old, first at the San Francisco Zoo in 1972, later in a trailer at Stanford University, and finally in Woodside.

Koko, 28, has been the subject of books, videos and documentary films. In 1998, Koko even took part what was billed as the first "interspecies" chat on the Internet. More than 8,000 AOL members logged on to ask Koko questions and see her responses typed in by a translator. Koko eventually became uninterested after 45 minutes and began playing with her dolls.

Koko also made headlines in the 1980s when she acquired a pet kitten she named "All Ball", who was later killed by a car.

Michael came to the foundation in 1976 when he was 3 years old. He was intended as a mate for Koko, but she was not interested in him. Another gorilla named Ndume is also housed at the foundation, though the animal is not known to communicate with gestures like Koko and Michael.

Attempts at sign language communication with primates have been controversial. Experts are split over whether apes have the ability to use language; critics maintain that apes who use gestures or symbols are merely imitating researchers in order to get rewards or are responding to humans' unconscious cues.

Although gorillas are prone to heart disease, it is unclear what killed Michael and an autopsy will be performed, said Gillian Ladd, an assistant to Patterson. Gorillas can live into their 50s.