Folks, let’s get right to it. What you’ve got here in the video above is a seal singing the Star Wars theme. Click on the video, and oh hell yeah you’re gonna hear a seal belting out John Williams’ classic space fantasy score.
This compilation of seals repeating back sounds comes from Scotland’s University of St. Andrews. Researchers there have been experimenting teaching grey seals to mimic human sounds, because some scientists get stuck doing, y’know, math, while other scientists get to teach big blubbery sea dogs to sing the hits.
According to CNN, researchers Amanda Stansbury and Vincent Janik say one seal in particular, Zola, was the most talented at mimicking back sounds, capable of repeating up to 10 notes in songs like the Star Wars theme and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Seals, evidentially, like songs about stars.
The purpose of the study is to help understand the evolution of language development and vocal learning, although we would argue that getting seals to do this Close Encounters of the Third Kind routine is a pretty good end result all on its own.
“Finding other mammals that use their vocal tract in the same way as us to modify sounds informs us on how vocal skills are influenced by genetics and learning and can ultimately help to develop new methods to study speech disorders,” Janik told CNN.
No word yet on if this seal can do any other movie themes, or if it will take requests. Seeing as how John Williams has said the upcoming The Rise of Skywalker will be his last, we expect its flippers to fill his shoes.
21 Comments
Didn’t sound much like the Star Wars theme to me, but I’ll give them the seal of approval anyway.Thanks folks, that’s my time. Try the fish. Preferably thrown at you.
You doubt the researchers? I don’t SEA them LION about this.Man, not a lot of seal pun material, is there?
Yeah, any more puns about them are proving to be more than a little flippery. No need to bark at me about it, though.
You just have to get pinnipedantic
Well, we’ve found a replacement for John Williams.
If you ask me, the best part is how the seal fucks off into the water like Rachel from Black Mirror when she messed up in the talent show and ran offstage.
… no he’s really not
At least their better then Danny Elfman.
…Zola, was the most talented at mimicking back sounds, capable of repeating up to 10 notes in songs like the Star Wars theme and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Seals, evidentially, like songs about stars.An obvious fact that (much to my embarrassment) I was not aware of until later in life: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” has the same melody as “The Alphabet Song” (and “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” too). So maybe Zola isn’t a Star Wars nerd so much as a precocious seal trying to let her handlers know that she’s ready for some Little Golden Books is what I’m saying.
You know if no one told you it was the Star Wars theme you would not have heard it. Its your brain finding patterns in things that don’t have patterns.
Its your brain finding patterns in things that don’t have patterns.-The AV Club
few things cuter than a seal
And for an encore, Zola will give us her rendition of Starman.
Plus the seal is doing it in an exhaust port.
Mm, no it isn’t.
I’m sorry but I prefer my seals
playing horns and clapping flippers.
Does Zola the seal take requests? Granted, “I Am the Walrus” could lead to an identity crisis, and “Free Bird” is a meal alternative to fish.
What, no Kiss from a Rose?
They should spend less time teaching the seals to sing and more time cleaning that damn tank.