Batyr
Encyclopedia
Batyr was an Asian elephant
claimed to be able to use a large amount of meaningful human
speech. Living in a zoo in Kazakhstan
, Batyr was reported as having a vocabulary of more than 20 phrases.
A recording of Batyr saying "Batyr is good", "Batyr is hungry" and using words such as "drink" and "give" was played on Kazakh state radio in 1980.
Like all cases of talking animals, these claims are subject to the observer-expectancy effect
; they may be a meaningless form of mimicry, and are subject to fabrication for many reasons.
in Karaganda
, Kazakhstan
. He died in 1993 having never seen or heard another elephant. Batyr was the offspring of once-wild
Indian elephant
s (a subspecies of the Asian elephant
). Batyr's mother "Palm" and father "Dubas" had been presented to Kazakhstan's Almaty Zoo
by the then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru
.
, whose name is a Turkic
word meaning Dashing Equestrian, Man of Courage or Athlete, was first alleged to speak just before New Year's Day in the winter of 1977 when he was eight years old. Zoo employees were the first to notice his "speech", but he soon delighted zoo-goers at large by appearing to ask his attendants for water and regularly praising or (infrequently) chastising himself. By 1979, his fame as the "Speaking Elephant" had spread in the wake of various mass-media stories about his abilities, many containing considerable fabrication and wild conjecture. Batyr's case was also included in several books on animal behaviour, and in the proceedings of several scientific conferences. These developments drew a spate of zoo visitors, and brought the offer of an exchange—Batyr for a rare Bonobo
—from the Czechoslovak Circus
; an offer rejected by the zoo's employees.
Doctor of science, A. N. Pogrebnoj-Aleksandroff who studied Batyr's abilities and wrote many publications about him, said of the elephant:
Various audiovisual recordings were made during Pogrebnoj-Aleksandroff's studies of Batyr and some of these have been transferred to Russia
's Moscow State University
for further study.
Full list of words and phrases reported to have been spoken by Batyr:
Using trunk in mouth—
Others sounds:
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
claimed to be able to use a large amount of meaningful human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
speech. Living in a zoo in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Batyr was reported as having a vocabulary of more than 20 phrases.
A recording of Batyr saying "Batyr is good", "Batyr is hungry" and using words such as "drink" and "give" was played on Kazakh state radio in 1980.
Like all cases of talking animals, these claims are subject to the observer-expectancy effect
Observer-expectancy effect
The observer-expectancy effect is a form of reactivity, in which a researcher's cognitive bias causes them to unconsciously influence the participants of an experiment...
; they may be a meaningless form of mimicry, and are subject to fabrication for many reasons.
Biography
Born on July 23, 1969, Batyr lived his entire life in the Karaganda ZooKaraganda Zoo
The Karaganda Zoo is the state zoo of the city Karaganda in Kazakhstan. The Karaganda Zoo covers , and is one of the largest and oldest zoological parks in the Republic of Kazakhstan...
in Karaganda
Karaganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
. He died in 1993 having never seen or heard another elephant. Batyr was the offspring of once-wild
Wildness
Wildness is literally the quality of being wild or untamed, but further to this, it has been defined as a quality produced in nature , as that which emerges from a forest , and as a level of achievement in nature...
Indian elephant
Indian Elephant
The Indian Elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years...
s (a subspecies of the Asian elephant
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
). Batyr's mother "Palm" and father "Dubas" had been presented to Kazakhstan's Almaty Zoo
Almaty Zoo
Almaty Zoo is the state zoo of the city Almaty in Kazakhstan. The Almaty Zoo is one of the largest and oldest zoological parks in the Republic of Kazakhstan.Almaty zoo is a member of the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums ....
by the then Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
.
Abilities
BatyrBatîr
Batîr is a commune in Cimişlia district, near the southern border of Moldova. It is composed of a single village, Batîr....
, whose name is a Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
word meaning Dashing Equestrian, Man of Courage or Athlete, was first alleged to speak just before New Year's Day in the winter of 1977 when he was eight years old. Zoo employees were the first to notice his "speech", but he soon delighted zoo-goers at large by appearing to ask his attendants for water and regularly praising or (infrequently) chastising himself. By 1979, his fame as the "Speaking Elephant" had spread in the wake of various mass-media stories about his abilities, many containing considerable fabrication and wild conjecture. Batyr's case was also included in several books on animal behaviour, and in the proceedings of several scientific conferences. These developments drew a spate of zoo visitors, and brought the offer of an exchange—Batyr for a rare Bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
—from the Czechoslovak Circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
; an offer rejected by the zoo's employees.
Doctor of science, A. N. Pogrebnoj-Aleksandroff who studied Batyr's abilities and wrote many publications about him, said of the elephant:
Batyr, on the level of natural blares, [Batyr] said words (including human slang) by manipulating his trunk. By putting the trunk in his mouth, pressing a tip of the trunk to the bottom of the jaw and manipulating the tongue, [the elephant] said words. Besides, being in a corner of the cage (frequently at night) with the trunk softly hanging down, the elephant said words almost silently—a sound comparable with the sound of ultrasonic devices used against mosquitoes or the peep of mosquitoes, which human hearing hears well until approximately the age of 40. While pronouncing words, only the tip of the elephant's trunk is clamped inside [the mouth] and Batyr made subtle movements with a finger-shaped shoot on the trunk tip".
Various audiovisual recordings were made during Pogrebnoj-Aleksandroff's studies of Batyr and some of these have been transferred to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
for further study.
Death
Batyr died in 1993 when zookeepers accidentally gave him an overdose of soporific drugs. His death was reported world wide.Lexicon
It is claimed that Batyr had a vocabulary of about 20 words in Russian and Kazakh languages. He reportedly imitated the sounds of other animals, and to have uttered short phrases including words of human slang. Batyr's lexicon list was compiled from audiovisual records, scientific researches and statistical data from eyewitnesses who heard the elephant themselves. Individual and disputable sounds were not considered. All other words as reported by the media were treated as fiction, second-hand and interpretations of retellings. For example, the phrase heard from Batyr as "water" was reported as "the elephant asked to drink".Full list of words and phrases reported to have been spoken by Batyr:
Using trunk in mouth—
- "Баты́р" — Batyr — said abruptly;
- "Я" — I'm — very abruptly, in combination with his name, using long pronunciation so "I'm-Batyr", sounded almost together;
- "Ба́ты́р" — Batyr — thoughtfully-tenderly and lingeringly;
- "Батыр, Батыр, Батыр…" — Batyr, Batyr, Batyr — joyfully running in a cage;
- "Воды́" — Water — ask;
- "Хоро́ший" — Good — as in "good fellow";
- "Батыр хоро́ший" — Good Batyr;
- "Ой-ё-ёй" — Oh-yo — sonorously;
- "Дурак" — Fool — seldom and abruptly;
- "Плохой" — Bad — rarely;
- "Батыр плохой" — Bad Batyr — rarely;
- "Иди́" — Go;
- "Ба́-ба" — short form of "babushka" — grandmother; short children's sound "ba"; also it means "married woman" (now this form is considered rude and can be used concerning any woman);
- "Да́" — Yes;
- "Дай" — Give (me);
- "Дай-дай-дай" — Give, give, give;
- "Раз-два-три" — One, two, three — while dancing, turning and hopping.
Others sounds:
- A human-like whistle;
- Human speech allegedly uttered at infrasonic and ultrasonic frequencies;
- A gnashing sound imitative of rubberRubberNatural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
or polyfoam (foam plastic) on glass; - The peep of rats or mice;
- The bark of dogs;
- The natural blares of elephants.
From the press
Reporter Richard Beeston in Moscow, wrote the article "Soviet Zoo Has Talking Elephant"—Batyr, a 10-year old Indian elephant at the Karaganda Zoo in soviet Kazakhstan, can say phrases like "Batyr is good" and verbs like "drink" and "give", a Moscow newspaper reported yesterday. It's said that a recording of its voice was heard recently on Kazakh state radio. "He just pushes his trunk into his mouth and starts talking," said the deputy director of the zoo, Mr Boris Kosinsky. He told a correspondent from the Young Communist League newspaper that it all began three years ago when a startled night watchman reported that he had heard the elephant talking to itself —The Daily Telegraph, 9th April 1980.
Scientific
- Scientific conference, Agricultural Institute, Tselinograd, in KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, 1983-1989 - The International Practical Science conference for the anniversary of Moscow ZooMoscow ZooThe Moscow Zoo is a zoo founded in 1864 by a group of professor-biologists, K.F. Rulje, S.A. Usov and A.P. Bogdanov, from the Moscow State University. In 1919, the zoo was nationalized. In 1922, the ownership was transferred to the city of Moscow and has remained under Moscow's control ever...
, in RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, 1984 - The International Practical Science conference for the anniversary of the Almaty ZooAlmaty ZooAlmaty Zoo is the state zoo of the city Almaty in Kazakhstan. The Almaty Zoo is one of the largest and oldest zoological parks in the Republic of Kazakhstan.Almaty zoo is a member of the Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos and Aquariums ....
, in KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, 1987 - The International Practical Science conference in TallinnTallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, 1989 - The International zoological conference; Institute of Zoology — Academy of Science, UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, 1989 - The International Practical Science conference for the 125 anniversary of Leningrad ZooLeningrad ZooThe Leningrad Zoo or Leningradskiy Zoopark , sometimes called the Saint Petersburg Zoo or Sankt-Peterburgskiy Zoopark , in Saint Petersburg , Russia, is located in Alexander Park on the Petrogradskaya Storona. It was founded by Sofia Gerhardt and Julius Gerhardt in 1865...
, Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, 1990
In books
- The True History or Who is Talking? An Elephant!" Dr. A. Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff 1979-1993 ISBN 0-9721266-0-0
- Reincarnation-Перевоплощение',' Dr. A. Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff 2001 ISBN 0-9721266-6-X
- Speaking Animals, A. Dubrov 2001 ISBN 5-87969-086-5
- Speaking Birds and Animals, O. Silaeva, V. Ilyichev, A. Dubrov 2005 ISBN 5-94429-016-1
Media
- Student documentary film: Who speaks? The elephant… — VGIKGerasimov Institute of CinematographyThe Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography All-Russian State University of Cinematography named after S. A. Gerasimov), VGIK for short, is a film school in Moscow, Russia.-History:...
— MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(USSR) - Audio recording of Batyr's voice by scientist and writer Dr. A. Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff (1979–1983)
See also
- KosikKosikKosik is a male Asian elephant in the Everland theme park in Yongin, South Korea, born 1990. He made headlines in September 2006 when it was discovered he could imitate the Korean words for "yes" , "no" , "sit" , "lie down" , and four other words...
- Alex (parrot)Alex (parrot)Alex was an African Grey Parrot and the subject of a thirty-year experiment by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, initially at the University of Arizona and later at Harvard University and Brandeis University. Pepperberg bought Alex in a regular pet shop when he was about one year old...
- Talking birds
- Talking animalTalking animalA talking animal or speaking animal refers to any form of non-human animal which can produce sounds resembling those of a human language. Many species or groups of animals have developed forms of Animal Communication Systems which to some appear to be a non-verbal language...
- N'kisiN'kisiN'kisi is an African Grey Parrot who is thought to exhibit advanced English usage skills and other abilities.-Accomplishments:According to news reports and websites, as of January 2004 N'kisi had a vocabulary of about 950 words and used them in context, frequently in complete sentences, had...
- Koko (gorilla)Koko (gorilla)Koko is a female western lowland gorilla who, according to Francine "Penny" Patterson, is able to understand more than 1,000 signs based on American Sign Language, and understand approximately 2,000 words of spoken English....
- Washoe (chimpanzee)Washoe (chimpanzee)Washoe was a chimpanzee who was the first non-human to learn to communicate using American Sign Language, as part of a research experiment on animal language acquisition....
- Animal languageAnimal languageAnimal language is the modeling of human language in non human animal systems. While the term is widely used, researchers agree that animal languages are not as complex or expressive as human language....