Hanabiko, nicknamed "Koko" (July 4, 1971 – June 19, 2018) was a female

western lowland gorilla The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in Montane ecosystems#Montane forests, montane, Old-growth forest, primary and sec ...

born in the

San Francisco Zoo The San Francisco Zoo and Gardens is a zoo located on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, in the southwestern corner of the city between Lake Merced and the Pacific Ocean along the Great Highway. The zoo's main entrance (o ...

and cross-fostered by

Francine Patterson Francine "Penny" Patterson (born February 13, 1947) is an American animal psychologist. From 1972 onwards, she taught a modified form of American Sign Language, which she called "Gorilla Sign Language" (GSL), to a gorilla named Koko. The scien ...

for use in ape language experiments. Koko gained public attention as the subject of two

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

cover stories and, in 1985, the best-selling children's picture book, ''Koko's Kitten''. Koko became the world's most famous representative of her

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

species. Koko's communication skills were hotly debated. Koko used many signs adapted from

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

, but the scientific consensus to date remains that she did not demonstrate the syntax or grammar required of true language. Patterson has been widely criticized for misrepresenting Koko's skills, providing insufficient care for Koko and her companion gorillas, and inappropriate treatment of Gorilla Foundation staff members. Despite such controversies, Koko's story changed the public image of gorillas, previously assumed to be brainless and violent. ''Science'' noted in its obituary that Koko "helped transform how the human world viewed animal emotion—and intelligence."

Early life and popularity

Koko was born on July 4, 1971, at the

to her mother Jacqueline and father Bwana. (The name , , is of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese origin and is a reference to her date of birth, the Fourth of July.) Koko remained with her mother until December, when she was hospitalized due to malnutrition, then hand-tended in the zookeeper's home. Patterson originally cared for Koko at the San Francisco Zoo as part of her doctoral research at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. Up through June 1973, she conducted sign language lessons with Koko from the Children's Zoo exhibit. The environment was noisy and distracting, so Patterson and her life partner Ron Cohn purchased a trailer in which they could conduct Koko's signing sessions. Around this time, Patterson realized that conflict with the zoo was "inevitable". She started the project on the condition that Koko would be reunited with her gorilla colony after a few years. Gorillas are social animals and suffer when isolated from their species. And, as gorillas are

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, the zoo expected to breed Koko. But Patterson felt that she had become Koko's "mother" and convinced the zoo to let her move the gorilla to Stanford. Once at Stanford, Patterson worked to wrest custody of Koko from San Francisco Zoo. Patterson found an exotic species dealer who sold her two infant gorillas that she suspected were illegally "harvested" (a process that involves killing the mother and any surrounding adults). Her plan was to give the female to the zoo as a replacement for Koko and keep the male as a playmate. But the female died within a month. Only the male,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, survived. Stuck without a viable trade for the zoo, Patterson launched a "Save Koko" press campaign, telling reporters that if Koko had to go back to the zoo, she may sink into depression, refuse to eat, and possibly die. The Save Koko campaign generated $3,000 in donations and, with additional funds from a wealthy benefactor, allowed Patterson to maintain custody of Koko. Around this time, Patterson founded (with Ron Cohn and lawyer Edward Fitzsimmons) the nonprofit Gorilla Foundation.

''Koko's Kitten''

In 1978, Koko gained worldwide attention when she was pictured on the cover of ''

'' magazine. The cover was a photo of Koko taking her own picture in the mirror. Koko was later featured on the cover of ''National Geographic'' in 1985 with a picture of her and her kitten, All Ball. In 1985, Scholastic Inc. published ''Koko's Kitten'', a children's picture book based on the ''National Geographic'' story. The book was favorably reviewed and became one of Scholastic's best sellers. Written by Patterson, it describes Koko's yearning for a cat, her adoption of All Ball, and Koko's sadness after the kitten is hit by a car and killed. The story is peppered throughout with Koko's signs such as "cry", "sleep" and "cat". ''Koko's Kitten'' is still in print.

Characteristics

Use of language and controversy

Francine Patterson published a few peer-reviewed studies on her work with Koko in the late 1970s. She demonstrated that Koko was able to communicate using a number of signs adapted from American Sign Language. Gorillas have thick, stubby fingers and hands that move differently than humans, so Koko was unable to make some ASL signs. Francine Patterson used the term "Gorilla Sign Language" to refer to Koko's adaptations. Patterson reported that Koko invented new signs to communicate novel thoughts. For example, she said that nobody taught Koko the word for "ring", so Koko combined the words "finger" and "bracelet", hence "finger-bracelet". This type of claim was seen as a typical problem with Patterson's methodology, as it relies on a human interpreter of Koko's intentions. In 1979, Herbert S. Terrace published the negative results of his Nim Chimpsky study, which presented evidence that Koko was mimicking her trainers. Terrace's article ignited intense debate over the ape language experiments (see "Scientific criticism" below), culminating in the 1980 "

Clever Hans Clever Hans (; ) was a horse that appeared to perform arithmetic and other intellectual tasks during exhibitions in Germany in the early 20th century. In 1907, psychologist Oskar Pfungst demonstrated that the horse was not actually performing th ...

" conference that mocked the other researchers involved. Funding for the ape language experiments disappeared seemingly overnight."Episode 5: A Witch Hunt." December 1, 2021. ''A Show About Animals'' podcast by ''VICE''. While other scientists severed ties with their apes after funding dried up, Patterson maintained responsibility for Koko. (For example, most of the chimps who worked with Terrace, as well as with the Gardners, were sold to medical labs for use in testing.) Though Patterson had initially defended her scientific work, she turned her focus away from science and toward securing revenue for the upkeep of Koko and Michael. Her work involved fund-raising, PR campaigns, and managing Gorilla Foundation caregiving staff. After 1978, Patterson and Koko had no affiliation with any university or government funding.

Scientific criticism

Francine Patterson's published research received a variety of criticisms from the scientific community. Herbert S. Terrace and Laura-Ann Petitto, researchers who worked with Nim Chimpsky, issued critical evaluations of Patterson's reports and suggested that Koko was simply being prompted by her trainers' unconscious cues to display specific signs.Terrace, H. S. (1983). Apes who "talk": language or projection of language by their teachers?. In Language in Primates (pp. 19–42). Springer New York. Terrace and Petitto questioned Patterson's interpretations of Koko's signing and her claims of grammatical competency, asking for more rigorous testing. (Terrace and Petitto reported negative results in their Nim study, which was itself criticized on methodological grounds.) Other researchers argued that Koko did not understand the meaning behind what she was doing and learned to complete the signs simply because the researchers rewarded her for doing so (indicating that her actions were the product of

operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process in which voluntary behaviors are modified by association with the addition (or removal) of reward or aversive stimuli. The frequency or duration of the behavior ma ...

). Another concern was that interpretation of the gorilla's conversation was left to the handler, who may have seen improbable

concatenation In formal language theory and computer programming, string concatenation is the operation of joining character strings end-to-end. For example, the concatenation of "snow" and "ball" is "snowball". In certain formalizations of concatenati ...

s of signs as meaningful; for example, when Koko signed "sad" there was no way to tell whether she meant it with the connotation of "How sad." Patterson defended her research, stating that blind and double-blind experiments had been administered to evaluate the gorillas' comprehension, that the gorillas were able to sign spontaneously to each other and to strangers without the prompting of a trainer, and that they signed meaningfully the majority of the time. Later critics noted that Patterson used Koko in deceptive ways in popular media. These concerns were echoed privately by staff at the Gorilla Foundation, where turnover was high. Some, like research assistant Anne Southecomb, expressed concerns that Patterson's exaggerated claims and "over-interpretation" undermined and disvalued their work. (Southcombe left to work with orangutan Chantek on a research project she preferred.) Sign language expert Sherman Wilcox, for example, characterized the Foundation's edited clips of Koko making a "climate speech" as deceptive and "disrespectful of ASL". Wilcox expressed concerns that the bit would reinforce the perception that ASL is "only words and no syntax". Eugene Linden, a journalist who spent years studying apes involved in language experiments and co-wrote (with Patterson) ''The Education of Koko'', also expressed concerns about Patterson's practices. Linden reported that Koko's signing was more fluid and precise than that of Washoe and other Oklahoma chimpanzees. She was also by nature less impulsive; though, like the chimps, she frequently refused to participate in language drills. When not pushed to perform or stressed by strangers, "the amount of signing by Koko seemed to me to overwhelm atterson'scapacity to digest and analyze it," Linden wrote. But in Linden's view, Patterson's exaggerated claims, " bunker mentality", refusal to provide researchers access to Koko, and unwillingness to open up the data she had collected minimized Koko's impact. Ultimately, critics of Patterson's claims acknowledged that Koko had learned a number of signs and used them to communicate her wants. But this did not mean that Koko "spoke" sign language, which requires a grasp of syntax and grammatical sentences. Experts generally agreed that Koko's use of sentences was unsupported by evidence.

Care practices criticism

Former employees of The Gorilla Foundation criticized the methods used to care for Koko and her male companion Ndume. In 2012, nine staff members including caregivers and researchers out of "roughly a dozen" resigned, and several submitted a letter to the board to explain their concerns. Former caregiver John Safkow stated that all members of the board left after the walkout, except for

Betty White Betty Marion Ludden ( White; January 17, 1922December 31, 2021), known professionally as Betty White, was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vas ...

. A pseudonymous source, "Sarah", told ''Slate'' that Koko's diet included an excess of processed meat and candy, and that Koko was given a traditional

Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving is the largest eating event in the United States as measured by retail ...

yearly. The source stated that the official diet they were told to give Koko was appropriate, but that Patterson would visit and feed her "chocolates and meats". Koko's weight of was higher than would be normal for a female gorilla in the wild, approximately ; the foundation stated that Koko "is, like her mother, a larger frame Gorilla." Multiple employees corroborated the claim that both Koko and Ndume were given "massive" numbers of supplements on the recommendation of a

naturopath Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult ...

; Safkow recalled that the number was between 70 and 100 pills per day, and "Sarah" claimed that various inappropriate foods like smoked

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

pea soup Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of pea ...

non-alcoholic beer Low-alcohol beer is beer with little or no alcohol by volume that aims to reproduce the taste of beer while eliminating or reducing the inebriating effect, carbohydrates, and calories of regular alcoholic brews. Low-alcohol beers can come in diff ...

, and

candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...

were used as treats to coax Koko to take the pills. The Gorilla Foundation stated that Koko took "between 5 to 15 types of nutritional supplements" and acknowledged their use of

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...

remedies. Several former caregivers at The Gorilla Foundation also raised concerns that Koko's companion Ndume was being neglected. In 2012, a group of former employees reached out to a blogger who focused on the ape caregiver community, who in turn asked the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) based in Riverdale Park, Maryland, Riverdale, Maryland responsible for protecting animal health, animal welfare, and plant h ...

(APHIS) to follow up on the claims. After an investigation, APHIS reported that Ndume had been neglected in some aspects; for instance, he had not been tested for

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 20 years, despite the recommendation being to test gorillas for tuberculosis yearly. In the 2010s, as Koko neared the end of her life, anthropologist and primatologist Barbara J. King questioned the ethics of Patterson's caretaking decisions, and criticized the foundation for excessively anthropomorphizing Koko.

Nipple fixation and lawsuit

Like other apes raised by humans (

Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...

, Washoe), Koko did not develop the sexual instincts of an ape raised in the wild. According to Patterson, she developed several crushes on human men. For example, Koko "maintained a near-constant vigil by the trailer window" when a favorite workman was expected to show—and blew him kisses after he arrived. Though Patterson secured male gorillas

and Ndume for Koko to mate with, she was not sexually interested in them. (As a result, Ndume was caged separately, in isolation.) Koko was reported to have a preoccupation with human

nipple The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in lactating females, breast milk, milk from the mammary gland leaves the body through the lactiferous ducts to Breastfeeding, nurse an infant. The milk can flow th ...

s, likely a result of her disconnect from other gorillas. In 2005, three female staff members at The Gorilla Foundation, where Koko resided, filed lawsuits against the organization, alleging that they were pressured to reveal their nipples to Koko by the organization's executive director,

, among other violations of

labor law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

. The lawsuit alleged that in response to signing from Koko, Patterson pressured Keller and Alperin (two of the female staff) to flash the ape. "Oh, yes, Koko, Nancy has nipples. Nancy can show you her nipples," Patterson reportedly said on one occasion. And on another: "Koko, you see my nipples all the time. You are probably bored with my nipples. You need to see new nipples. I will turn my back so Kendra can show you her nipples." Shortly thereafter, a third woman filed suit, alleging that upon being first introduced to Koko, Patterson told her that Koko was communicating that she wanted to see the woman's nipples, pressuring her to submit to Koko's demands and informing her that "everyone does it for her around here." When the woman briefly lifted her t-shirt, flashing her undergarments, Patterson admonished the woman and reiterated that Koko wanted to see her nipples. When the woman relented and showed her breasts to Koko, Patterson commented "Oh look, Koko, she has big nipples." On another occasion, one of the gorilla's handlers told the woman that Koko wanted to be alone with her. When the woman went to Koko's enclosure, Koko began to squat and breathe heavily. The lawsuits were

settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

out of court. When asked to comment on the matter, gorilla expert Kristen Lukas said that other gorillas are not known to have had a similar nipple fixation. A former caregiver stated that Patterson would interpret the sign for "nipple" as a sound-alike, "people", when notable donors were present.

Later life and death

After Patterson's research with Koko was completed, the gorilla moved to a reserve in Woodside, California. At the reserve, Koko lived with another gorilla,

, but he died in 2000. She then lived with another male gorilla, Ndume, until her death. At the preserve, Koko also met and interacted with a variety of celebrities, including

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

Fred Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television s ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

Flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...

Leonardo DiCaprio Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, and

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

. Koko died in her sleep during the morning of June 19, 2018, at the Gorilla Foundation's preserve in

Woodside, California Woodside is a incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It has a council–manager system of government. The population of the town was 5,309 at the 2020 census. The town's population ha ...

, at the age of 46. The Gorilla Foundation released a statement that "The impact has been profound and what she has taught us about the emotional capacity of gorillas and their cognitive abilities will continue to shape the world." Despite her comparatively old age, her death took staff members of the Gorilla Foundation by surprise. Ndume was transferred to the

Cincinnati Zoo The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is the second oldest zoo in the United States, founded in 1873 and officially opening in 1875. It is located in the Avondale neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. It originally began with in the middle of the ...

after a lengthy legal battle.

In popular culture

Books and documentaries

* 1978 '' Koko: A Talking Gorilla'', a documentary film by

Barbet Schroeder Barbet Schroeder (born 26 August 1941) is an Iranian-born Swiss film director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working with directors of the French New Wave such as Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohm ...

* 1978 cover of ''

'' magazine that Koko photographed, as well as feature article * 1981 ''The Education of Koko'', a book by Patterson and naturalist Eugene Linden () * 1985 ''Koko's Kitten'', a picture book by Patterson and photographer Ronald Cohn () * 1986 ''Silent Partners: The Legacy of the Ape Language Experiments'', a book by Eugene Linden () * 1987 ''Koko's Story'', a children's book by Patterson for

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, teachers, parents, children, and other educational institutions. P ...

() * 1990 ''Koko's Kitten'', a 15-minute re-enactment of the story of the gorilla's adoption of a kitten, featured in the ''

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

'' children's show ''

Reading Rainbow ''Reading Rainbow'' is an American educational children's television series that originally aired on PBS and afterward PBS Kids from July 11, 1983 to November 10, 2006, with reruns continuing to air until August 28, 2009. 155 30-minute episodes ...

'' * 1999 ''A Conversation with Koko'', a

documentary for ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'', narrated by

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

* 1999 ''The Parrot's Lament'', by Eugene Linden () * 2000 ''Koko-Love!'', a picture book by Patterson and photographer Ronald Cohn () * 2001 ''Koko and Robin Williams'', a short featurette on

meeting Koko * 2008 ''Little Beauty'', a picture book by Anthony Browne inspired by Koko's adoption of a pet kitten () * 2016 ''Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People'', a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary also shown on

* 2019 ''A Wish for Koko'', a children's book in honor of Koko's life * 2019 ''Koko the Gorilla'', The Musers commentary on Koko's life

Movies and television shows

* 1998 ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'', Season 9, Episode 19 (The Maid);

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

is nicknamed "Koko the monkey" after co-workers witness him yelling and flailing his arms with a banana in his hand * 1998 '' Mr Rogers' Neighborhood'', Episode 1727 (You and I Together);

Mister Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), better known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterianism, Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the presc ...

visits with Koko who has learned how to communicate in sign language * 2009 ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

'', Season 3, Episode 10 (The Gorilla Experiment); Sheldon makes an attempt to teach physics to

Penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

, like when Koko learned Sign Language.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koko (Gorilla) 1971 animal births 2018 animal deaths Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area Female mammals History of the San Francisco Bay Area Individual apes involved in language studies Individual gorillas Individual primates in the United States