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TETE-A-TETE WITH A TIGER: Edmonton's Valley Zoo is inviting French speakers to stop and chat with Boris, a Siberian tiger from the Granby Zoo in Quebec, who appears to be missing his first language. 3 \; t) f$ p5 r4 L# i }. M! Q ) E. e G- d# O; _ 5 ~7 U% @1 R- ]- |Zoo's Quebec cat likes French chatKeepers discover eight-year-old Boris is more responsive to the language of his youth$ F2 P+ {9 m# { ^
. U" r; E# w! Q- H% u/ n. EEDMONTON - Word has spread quickly that Boris, the Valley Zoo's Siberian tiger, likes the sound of people speaking French. ' `1 v7 x) u* I. n' U3 zOn the same day the zoo invited people who speak French to visit Boris, who was born and raised in Quebec, visitors could be heard tossing a few French words at the tiger as they stopped outside his enclosure. 2 S" l ^3 h! j: R4 fCloser in, zookeeper Ginette Heppelle, also cooed to the big cat in French. ' x5 D; N) h. t+ l. l2 _5 g# \* s$ |8 U6 R0 {1 n0 Q/ f' N+ N& B
"Salut, mon chat!" she said. "Comment ca va?") @; h3 m( Y3 `$ Y
The tiger's size -- he weighs 135 kilograms and is 2.5 metres long -- and his four huge canine teeth make him a spectacular sight. But it's his apparent disposition to the French language that has caught the public's attention.) u4 B1 ^* ^7 ^4 Z, ]& A
Boris arrived at the Valley Zoo last May after spending the first seven years of his life at the Granby Zoo in Quebec.- r, i8 C, L3 v1 l$ s! K
He was unresponsive upon his arrival, said the Valley Zoo's operations supervisor, Dean Triechel. But things changed when Heppelle, a French speaker, chatted with the cat in her native tongue.0 m( Y5 }2 G: {' y
"He was being aloof most of the time, but as soon as he heard the French language, he came over to the bars," said Triechel. "(When he hears French,) he just shows that interest in general.") a7 J% P7 K; o5 q7 t
At times on Monday, the tiger appeared responsive to Heppelle's words. At other times, he simply stretched, yawned and appeared to be basking in the attention of visitors.- A$ Y* u0 w) G1 Z) G
"He's one of the goofiest large cats I've ever seen," said Triechel. - i7 B6 k6 O# e! {' PHeppelle noted that it was probably the cat's new surroundings that made Boris uncomfortable during his first days in Edmonton.3 n% ^# \& V6 n9 t+ P
Still, Heppelle thinks it could be soothing for him to hear French from visitors. ! Y. E2 W4 T6 B: S"If anything, it will just remind him of home and it will probably make him feel pretty good," she said.( q- ?/ M; ^! \- s
Joseph Stookey, a professor in the department of large animal clinical sciences at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan, said the move probably had the biggest impact on Boris's comfort level. He doubts the tiger would appreciate hearing French words from the public.+ ?# u/ ]8 o( O! |9 X5 b
"You can imagine all of the conversations that people have around that enclosure, and I don't think the tiger would put that together in any kind of meaningful way," Stookey said. - @- \5 f5 J) l6 ?; o7 k9 X"The animal knows it's in a strange place and it's going to feel that way for a long time ... (language) is going to be a small part of this great, big, unfamiliar picture for the animal." . f8 q& Z% z2 R7 e/ ~( q: ?: h$ ITriechel admits that he's just as keen to have people learn more about the Siberian tiger as he is about having them speak French to Boris. Siberian tigers are an endangered species; it's estimated there are fewer than 500 left in the world. + ]# U6 v; Y0 ]1 l4 ?; JBoris is part of the Species Survival Plan program. One of its goals is to organize managed breeding programs for some animals facing extinction., t4 s/ N: W% l$ j. p
Boris is now being trained to understand some English words as part of a behavioural training program that will allow zoo staff to inoculate him with greater ease. ( @+ p" \0 G9 Z# E" KHe joins a 19-year-old female Siberian tiger at the zoo.6 P8 q7 W: H7 f: f0 U
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