Elephant Style

There has been a lot of talk in the last few years about the emerging economic powers of the Orient, with the new Eastern superpowers growing exponentially and seemingly unstoppably.

This will, at some stage effect all of us, from the manufacturer of our favourite plastic cup to the tiny micro conductors in our mobile phones.

What I for one did not expect was for it to make elephants start speaking Korean.

But this is exactly what Koshik, and elephant living in a zoo in South Korea, appears to have begun doing. 

Zookeepers and scientists alike have been astounded by the animal, who has been able to imitate a few Korean words by putting his trunk inside his mouth. The words he has managed so far are: "hello", "no", "sit down", "lie down" and "good".

Not exactly poetry, but it is a start. And a worrying one at that. I hope the next step isn't a animal gangnam-style flash mobs.