Famous Animals: Barry the Avalanche Dog.Sadly, his descendants weren’t as gifted with language as he was. And guess what dialect Hoover spoke? He spoke with the same accent as George and Alice, of course, as they were like his real parents and he wanted to “speak” their language. With catchphrases like “hello there” and “get outta here!”, he was a sensation! No mammal before him was able to imitate human language as perfectly as him. Visitors were overjoyed to see the cute new arrival and were always impressed when Hoover spoke like a human. Why could this seal talk? And why did Hoover have a strong New England accent? They had to know! It was then that the scientists at the aquarium became very interested in the tubby little seal. After a while, a keeper noticed Hoover’s unusual gift as he actually tried to impress female seals with human language! Hoover Had an Accent That’s why he ended up at the New England Aquarium at four months old. George and Alice’s bathtub soon became too small - after all, it’s in a seal’s nature to dive and swim around. Seal (not Hoover) - Photo: Silke/ Hoover Mimicked Human Speech But when he started eating again, he was so hungry that he “hoovered” up one fish after the other (hence the name Hoover!). But Hoover couldn’t even manage to eat the tastiest fish in the first few days. George and Alice Swallow discovered the little seal and took him home to nurse him back to health. But thankfully, his mournful calls were heard! The Talking Seal As a baby seal, little Hoover was found completely abandoned and alone on a beach in Maine (USA) in 1971. The population of northern fur seals is currently declining due to a combination of factors, from overfishing and pollution to climate change and entanglement in fishing gear.Hoover was the most famous seal in the world because he could imitate human language! Sadly, Hoover didn’t have a good start in life. Northern fur seals in zoos and aquariums are rare the New England Aquarium is home to six of the 11 found in North America. Just keep swimming: Leu enjoys a dip in the pool. When he is ready, he’ll join the five adult northern fur seals and both 2-year-old sea lion pups at the exhibit in the harborside New Balance Foundation Marine Mammal Center. He's also gained weight and is now up to 20 pounds. His fur is still patchy but the darker outer coat is filling in and slowly covering his peach-colored undercoat. New England Aquarium His fur may be patchy, but Leu is still a cutey! New England AquariumĪccording to the aquarium, Leu is adapting well to his new home. New England Aquarium Eager to be trained: Leu stares down one of his trainers. Leu is currently being trained by the New England Aquarium's marine mammal staff. Much like dogs, seals rely on name recognition to learn new behaviors, so as marine mammal trainers worked intensively to teach the pup how to come up on deck and eat from their hands, having a moniker to call him by was key. When Leu arrived at the aquarium at the beginning of May, finding him a name became a high priority. When Leu was discovered in California he weighed only 13 pounds, about a pound more than when he was born months ago. Choosing from more than 1,500 entries, the marine mammal staff chose the name Leu (pronounced like Lou) which is short for the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska, a prime habitat for northern fur seals. Now living at the New England Aquarium, the baby seal was given a name this Wednesday thanks to a contest on the Aquarium's website. But the poor pup has remained nameless until this week. Happily, after two months of rehab at the Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center, he's in better shape. When he was discovered in a tangle of seaweed on a California beach, he weighed only 13 pounds, was blind in one eye due to an injury, and had a mottled coat that could not keep him warm in cold ocean waters. Though he's only 10 months old, this northern fur seal pup has already had a rough life.
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