Koko’s Kittens

Koko the gorilla was born in the San Francisco Zoo, and is famous for learning sign language. The other thing she’s famous for is keeping pets – namely, kittens.

Below is video of Koko choosing a new pet kitten, donated by the San Francisco Humane Society, on March 10th. But while viewing this sweet scene, I noticed something that has me confused and a little bit concerned.

On YouTube alone, I see reference to at least 3 different kittens (All Ball, Moe, and Tigger), with zero videos of any adult cats.

Kittens are cuter than adult cats, I admit. But if Koko is ruthlessly going through these adorable little fuzzballs like so many living toys, I think that suggests something a lot of us might not be comfortable with.

Like, maybe kittens are as tasty as they are cute?

UPDATE: Eve at SF Appeal informs me of this:

Koko was very gentle with all of her cat friends.. She cared for her
kittens as she would her own tiny gorilla baby, cradling them gently
in her arms and carrying them on her back. She has never harmed them,
even when they scratch or bite, as kittens sometimes do.

Still, that quote reminds me of this: