Kicker: Seal sounds

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Cute little sea mammals are helping scientists in Scotland study speech disorders. 

Seals use their vocal tracts the same way humans do. Researchers raised three gray seals from birth to learn how successful they could be learning vocal skills, something rare in animals. 

The study at the University of St. Andrews showed that trained seals were able to imitate parts of popular tunes like “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

AUDIO: [Sound of seal]

Not Rihanna, but pretty good for a sound seals don’t typically need to make.

Add in a little Autotune, and they might have a huge pop hit like Baby Shark!

It’s The World and Everything in It.

(Photo/University of St. Andrews)

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