Comments on: Video: This Elephant Learned to Speak Korean

By: Kim Holleman

Kim Holleman — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 13:59:46 +0000

I Personally feel that the people and authority that allowed a baby elephant to be there alone as a baby without other elephants to relate to as he grew up, should be shot to death and dismembered publicly. I’m sick and tired of people treating animals like furniture. This poor animal belonged to it’s mother in the wild, no where else. Now that it can speak, it has become a toy or a clown, jester or subject of study….NOTHING an elephant should be doing. They have their own lives, their own will, their own destinies. Humans suck.

By: jinay

jinay — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 06:08:54 +0000

how it’s possible . it’s really amazzzzzzzing

By: Steve W

Steve W — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 04:41:58 +0000

It sounds like that part of the short story by Saki, “Tobermory,” where a scientist attempts to teach an elephant to speak German.

By: Audreyrose

Audreyrose — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 04:28:16 +0000

I was struck by the calloused anthrocentrism of the article; my heart ached for this poor creature that had been raised in isolation from his own kind, and wondered how he interacts with elephants now. Does he recognize them as relatives? Can he be social and interact appropriately with them?

On a lighter note, the humor of the second commenter was charming–his parrot’s porter!

By: Donald

Donald — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:23:45 +0000

This is exciting news. Certainly this sheds some light on the nature vs. nurture discussions of human beings when cross-species communication can be learned from association. And maybe the lion can learn to lie down with the lamb.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 23:33:27 +0000

Inteesting!

By: Mykeljon

Mykeljon — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:56:05 +0000

I believe there is a strong possibility of the elephant being able to attach meaning to the words. I own a parrot with a vocabulary of about 20 words. Family and visitors have witnessed our bird saying words in a way that proves that he knows the meaning of the words. For example, when he is sitting on my shoulder, he will say, “Go potty.”, when he needs to relieve himself. I take him back to his cage where he does what he needs to do. He is too lazy to fly the distance and has trained me to be his porter. I really believe that there are many animals that are capable of communication, certainly with each other, and perhaps with us is we are smart enough to figure it out.