Video: This Elephant Really Speaks Korean

Granted, Koshik the elephant doesn’t have a large vocabulary. But scientists have confirmed that the 5.5-ton behemoth can imitate five Korean words by speaking through his trunk.

Koshik can say “annyong” (“hello”), “anja” (“sit down”), “aniya” (“no”), “nuo” (“lie down”), and “choah” (“good”). (Don’t think that’s much? Well, how much Korean can you speak?)

The researchers, in a report posted in Current Biology, note that imitating speech is not unheard-of across species. Mockingbirds routinely mimic other creatures and mynahs and parrots can reproduce entire human phrases with enough training. (A number of apes, including a gorilla named Koko, have learned to communicate in sign language.)

Koshik, a male Asian elephant, was the only elephant living at Yongin’s Everland Zoo when his talent was discovered… Read more from this story HERE.

Here’s quick video of the elephant “speaking”: