An Asian elephant called
Koshik has astounded scientists with his Korean language skills.
Researchers report that the
mammal has learnt to imitate human speech and can say five words in Korean:
hello, no, sit down, lie down and good.
The zoo animal places the tip
of his trunk into his mouth to transform his natural low rumble into a
convincing impression of a human voice.
The study is published in the
journal Current Biology.
Koshik's vocal abilities mean
that elephants now join a growing list of animals that are able to mimic man,
from parrots and mynah birds to more unusual animals such as sea lions or the
recently reported case of a human-sounding
beluga whale.
Video and more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20142858
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