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By the time she died at the age of 46, Koko the gorilla was a global superstar. Not only could she apparently understand two thousand words of spoken English and convey her own thoughts and feelings using sign language, but she was even able to give her own pet kitten a name.\\n \\nSome say that it\\u2019s impossible to know whether Koko really understood what she was communicating, or whether she was just trying to please people by signing certain things. Either way, her death raises questions about animals, and the ways in which we try to understand them.\\n \\nOn this week\\u2019s Inquiry we examine how recent discoveries are bringing us closer to understanding our fellow creatures. We reveal some surprising animal capabilities, and ask whether we can ever know what it\\u2019s like to be anything other than human.

image: European Hamster (Shutterstock)