Talking Pinnipeds

From ‘Talking’ seals mimic sounds from human speech, and validate a Boston legend by Katherine J. Wu.

In November of 1978, an observer in a Boston institution hurriedly scrawled down a short note that, unbeknownst to them, would eventually send waves through the research field of language development.

“He says ‘Hoover’ in plain English,” the page read. “I have witnesses.”

That sentence wouldn’t have been remarkable, save for one detail: The “he” in question—Hoover—was a harbor seal.

Over the next several months, Hoover’s trainers at Boston’s New England Aquarium discovered that their unusual flippered friend could do far more than speak his own name. Rewarded with treats of fish whenever he spoke, the seal quickly began verbally greeting aquarium employees and patrons alike.

On these occasions, Hoover would adopt a straight-backed posture and square his shoulders (or, at least, the seal equivalent of shoulders) before yelping out phrases like “hello there, how are you,” “come over here,” or “get out of here” in a thick, rumbling New England accent, punctuated by raucous barks. He also appeared to be capable of “laughter,” scientists noted in a 1985 study, and once emitted a “blood-curdling scream” so alarming that an observer logged it as a data point in Hoover’s file.

Researchers later realized that Hoover had picked up several of these quirks from the Maine fisherman who had rescued him from the shores of Cundys Harbor when he was a pup. “Hoover sounds much like a male human with a Boston accent,” they wrote. Others, however, seemed to be Hoover-specific idiosyncrasies: “He often sounds somewhat inebriated,” the paper reads, “probably because of his tendency to slur together sounds representing separate human words.”

Unsurprisingly, Hoover’s remarkable ability to mimic human speech made him a hit—and people from all over flocked to Massachusetts to visit and converse with the world’s one and only “talking seal.” Hoover seemed to enjoy the spotlight, even staging the occasional fit, complete with “raspy breathing” and “strange cries,” to garner the attention of exasperated aquarium staff.