Hoover, the Seal Who Talked
Visitors at a Boston aquarium were startled to hear a seal call out 'Hello there!' and 'Get outta here!', in a thick Maine accent.
What was reported
In 1971, a couple in Maine found an orphaned harbour seal pup and raised it for a while at their home. He ate so greedily they named him Hoover, after the vacuum cleaner. When he grew too big, he was given to the New England Aquarium in Boston.
Years later, keepers noticed Hoover was making sounds like human speech. He would say 'Hello there', 'How are you?' and 'Get outta here!', in a voice like a gruff old New England fisherman, apparently picked up from the man who raised him.
Explanations offered
Hoover was real, and his speech was recorded and studied. Scientists later found that seals are among the few mammals that can learn new sounds by imitation, like humans, songbirds and parrots. That makes them useful for research into how speech evolved.
- When
- 1971–1985
- Where
- New England Aquarium, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Witnesses
- Aquarium staff, visitors and scientists
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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