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Judge: Solve dispute over pal to sign-language gorilla Koko

Ndume
Posted at 12:27 PM, Dec 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-17 12:27:14-05

CINCINNATI (AP) — A judge has ordered the Cincinnati Zoo and a gorilla conservatory to resolve a custody dispute over a gorilla loaned as a companion to Koko, the late gorilla famous for mastering sign language.

U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg recommended out-of-court mediation Monday, writing that the zoo and The Gorilla Foundation appear to value what's best for the 37-year-old silverback gorilla named Ndume. The organizations have until Thursday to submit a joint proposal.

The zoo sued in October for Ndume's return. The gorilla was loaned to the California-based foundation in 1991 under a contract revised to guarantee his transfer after Koko's death.

Zoo officials claim Ndume has since lived in isolation to his detriment. The foundation says a transfer would harm him and pose unnecessary risk.