Chats du pays, c'est votre tour

by a-dog

In our continuing coverage of the civilized wildlife of Canada, we now bring you the story of Boris, an Edmonton zoo tiger who misses his Québec birthplace so much that he insists on being spoken to in French.

Upon arriving at the Edmonton zoo, Boris was shy, standoffish, and refused contact with any of his keepers. That is, until Ginette Heppelle, the zoo's only French-speaking zookeeper, told him bonjour, and he immediately walked over to become her friend. Staff say Boris is also responsive to other French-speaking visitors.

Operations supervisor Dean Treichel says that Boris is now "becoming more and more bilingual," as he adjusts to his English-speaking surroundings. Still, we appreciate his cultured taste for the language of Molière.