We all knew that elephants were smart but we never realised that they could actually speak to us, until now that is…
Scientists are literally trumpeting the skills of an Indian elephant who has somehow learned to speak Korean. We are not messing about this, seriously!
Koshik is an elephant who talks by putting his trunk in his mouth and apparently, he can say five words in Korean. What can he say? Well, most of them are directions given to him by his trainers, such as “hello,” “sit down,” “no,” “lie down” and “good.”
Recordings of Koshik were made at a zoo in South Korea and have now been released on YouTube, turning this elephant into a viral sensation.
In a report that appeared in noted journal Current Biology, researchers said that the 22-year-old elephant’s language skill could provide key insights into the evolution of vocal learning.
Unfortunately for Koshik, it is unlikely that he understands what he’s saying.
“He accurately imitates the voice pitch of his trainers. This is remarkable considering the anatomical differences with humans,” said elephant expert Angela Stoeger, from the University of Vienna.
Scientists say that Koshik learned to talk at the Everland Zoo because he lived alone there for five years and only had his human trainers to chat to.
We have to say we’re pretty amazed at this! What do you think?
