Asian elephant speaks Korean

An Asian elephant named Koshik can imitate human speech, saying words in Korean that can be understood by speakers of the language, researchers from the University Of Vienna say.

It's unclear why Koshik started mimicking human speech, but cognitive biologists Angela Stoeger and Tecumseh Fitch suggest in research published in the journal Current Biology that it might be related to his experiences as a juvenile.

Koshik was the only elephant living at the Everland Zoo in South Korea for about five years in his youth, with only people for company during an important phase for bonding and development.

"We suggest that Koshik started to adapt his vocalisations to his human companions to strengthen his social affiliation with them, something that is also seen in other vocal-learning species and in very special cases, even across species," said Stoeger.

There have been reports of elephants imitating the sound of truck engines, and a male elephant living in a zoo in Kazakhstan has been reported to say words in Russian and Kazakh, but that case was never investigated by scientists.

Koshik made headlines a few years ago by attracting tourists with his unusual ability, but the researchers have now run tests where they asked native Korean speakers to write down what they heard when listening to recordings of the elephant.

They found that by sticking his trunk in his mouth to help form the sounds, he has a vocabulary of the five Korean words for 'hello', 'sit down', 'no', 'lie down' and 'good'.

Unfortunately, there's no evidence that Koshik understands the meaning of the words he is using. So we guess he won't be snacking at a Korean restaurant any time soon.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012 | 1 comments | Read More

Up Close And Personal With Elephants

This daring British wildlife photographer is shown taking a dip with a herd of wild elephants, who are crossing a river delta in Zimbabwe.

Using a floatation device hidden under his clothes, Chris Weston followed the herd into the tributary of the Zambezi River, capturing images that most wildlife photographers can only dream of.

However, the 44-year-old from Weymouth had spent five weeks gaining the trust of the herd during his time in the Ngamo Game Reserve - which meant he was not considered a threat.

Up close and personal: This elephant turns to the photographer, who is in the water with the herd

'I was never really in any danger,' explained Mr Weston.

'Although there is always an element of that when working with animals, especially ones this size.

'But it's key to be able to read their body language and the way they communicate with you.'


The seasoned wildlife photographer, who has travelled all over the world to document large mammals, says he wants to capture the personality of an animal in the same way a portrait artist would with a human subject.

'It's not so much getting as close as possible,' said Mr Weston.

'Lenses change the perspective of the way we see things.

'What I like to do is show it as we see it and the standard lens is 50mm which means you have to get relatively close.

'The idea is to give the viewer an idea of the personality of that individual animal.

'In much the same way as you would take a person's portrait, you can't be standing half a mile away with a long lens.

'You have to get close and establish some kind of relationship.'

Say cheese! The Brit is shown in between two elephants, who are used to his presence

Mr Weston, who has been a professional photographer for 11 years, said he spends a long time building a relationship with his subjects and has returned to shoot the herd five times over the course of around four years.

'Elephants do have good memories,' he said.

'You can tell they remember you because of how they react when they see you.

'Each time I went back I could pretty much start again where I left off the last time.

'Many animals, such as lions, are wary of humans but elephants don't consider us a threat because of their size.

'I also think they have a better capacity to understand and reason than a lion does.

'It's very much like making friends with an animal - and you can only do that when you are relatively close to them.'

Eye-to-eye: Mr Weston takes a picture of one of his animal friends, who watches playfully

Thirsty work: One of Mr Weston's subjects is shown taking in a good gulp of water

Mr Weston used a vehicle to follow the herd but took to the water to get the pictures he needed.

He said: 'They came out of the forest and began crossing the river.

'I was wearing a flotation device under my clothes and was able to get very close to them.

'I hope it gives people a much better idea about elephants in their natural environment.'

Wednesday, September 07, 2011 | 0 comments | Read More