Francine "Penny" Patterson is crazy delusional, maybe scarily so. Don't take my word for it. Just Google the transcript of the chat session in which Penny "translated" between Koko and a bunch of very confused AOLers. It's obvious what's going on. This woman is reading into gestures Koko keeps making to provoke Penny into giving her a treat. Native users of American Sign Language who see a “conversation” between Koko and Penny know that this is what is going on.
Penny is not a scientist, if you understand “scientist” to mean a person who has his or her findings checked by peers. She controls all the research and finances at her foundation with a man named Dr. Ron Cohen, who used to be a scientist in a completely different field, but, since he first trained a camera on Koko and Penny, has come to make a nice living controlling the film which should be, but is not, shared with as raw data with the scientific community. According to their Gorilla Foundation web site, Dr. Cohen is “an authority figure” for the gorillas whose “presence is an integral part of their daily routine”, a worryingly odd choice of words which begs explanation more than it clarifies.
Penny appears in public to raise money to move her, her gorillas, volunteers, and employees to 70 acres in Maui. Tourists and their dollars will be encouraged there, but I doubt she’ll allow the kind of access that would make it a real scientifically valuable institution.
What seems to be driving Penny crazy is her need to believe she is not delusional or running a scam. It's possible Penny really thinks Koko is having a conversation with her, as many, including National Geographic Magazine, have been fooled into thinking. But some part of Penny must have some doubt, because otherwise, why does she hide from her peers? I think some part of her must know and is constantly looking over her shoulder, wondering who will clue in and tell on her. If I’m right, this explains the wild control-freak behavior she is being accused of in court, most of which is garden-variety “psycho boss” stuff which is not as dramatic as the weird “nipple” thing.
About the nipple fetish, it’s obvious Penny either can’t or won’t stop Koko from grabbing people’s nipples, because on TV’s Monster Garage, Koko grabbed for Jessie James’ nips in front of millions of viewers. Penny apparently is not a good enough animal trainer to teach Koko not to do that instead indulges her like some sad pet owner who doesn’t command enough authority to get it across to her dog that humping legs is just not acceptable behavior and will not be tolerated. Animals can’t be controlled by delusional, indulgent people who treat them like roommates, pals, or babies. Watch and learn from the great Cesar Milano of The Dog Whisperer show on the National Geographic Channel! In the case of a dangerous wild animal who is allowed contact with people, it could be a recipe for disaster. Penny’s scientific malpractice, mistreatment of employees, incompetence as an animal keeper, and spooky detachment from reality should be exposed for the world to see and learn a lesson from. Her foundation should be taken from her and given to responsible parties who can rationally debate and decide what is best for the gorillas and all the assets Penny and Cohen have amassed.
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