EDMONTON - Parlez-vous francais?
If your answer is "oui," then you can talk to a Siberian Tiger named Boris at Edmonton's Valley Zoo.
And he'll understand you.
Boris, who was born and raised at a zoo in Granby, Quebec, has been living at the zoo for about a year, but zoo staff have found French remains his language of choice.
When Boris arrived in Edmonton last May, staff found him unresponsive to English commands.
Ginette Heppelle, a French-speaking zookeeper from Saskatchewan, was then asked to try a few lines in French.
She says when she started to speak to Boris in French, he approached her.
Heppelle says French is the language to which he's accustomed.
That may not be surprising to many animal trainers, who have known for years that higher-functioning animals will recognize and respond to particular human languages.
Dr. Christopher Sturdy, who studies animal behaviour at the University of Alberta, says dogs and cats can be taught in and respond to virtually any language.
