Hoover (seal)

Infobox Person
name = Hoover


image_size = 200px
caption =
birth_date = 1971?
birth_place =
death_date = death date|1985|7|25|mf=y
death_place = New England Aquarium Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
occupation =
spouse =
parents =
children = 6cite news| last = Currier | first = Patricia A. | coauthors = | title = Hoover Will Talk No More; A Delight To Thousands, Aquarium Seal Dies At Age 14 | work = The Boston Globe | pages = 2 | language = English | publisher = | date = July 26, 1985 | url = http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=662073171&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=3589&RQT=309&VName=PQD | accessdate = 2006-12-18]

Hoover (1971? — July 25, 1985) was a harbor seal who was able to imitate basic human speech.cite journal | last = Fitch | first = W. Tecumseh | title = The evolution of speech: a comparative review | journal = Trends in Cognitive Sciences | volume = 4 | issue = 7 | pages = 258–267 | date = 2000-07-01 | url = http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wtsf/Fitch2000TICS.pdf | publisher = Elsvier Ltd | format = PDF | doi = 10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01494-7 | id = ISSN: 1364-6613 | accessdate = 2006-12-11 ]

An orphan, Hoover was found in 1971 outside Harpswell, Maine by George and Alice Swallow, who brought him home. When Hoover outgrew the bathtub, he was transferred to the pond outside their house where he began to imitate George. Again he was moved, this time to the New England Aquarium, where he told visitors to "Get outta here!" in a thick New England accent. cite news | title = The Smartest City on the Planet | work = Boston Magazine | language = English | date = October 2006 | accessdate = 2006-12-11]

Thanks to this, he became famous, and appeared in publications like "Reader's Digest" and "The New Yorker" and television programs like "Good Morning America". [http://www.neaq.org/animals_and_exhibits/exhibits/individual_exhibits/harbor_seals_exhibit/hoover.php Biographical details] for Hoover at the website for the New England Aquarium (accessed May 19, 2008).]

Hoover died on July 25, 1985 due to complications during his annual molt. His obituary was published in "The Boston Globe".

None of Hoover's six pups (daughters Joey, Amelia, and Trumpet and sons Lucifer, Cinder, and Spark) spoke, but his grandson Chacoda (or "Chucky") has shown an ability to be guided in his vocalizations. As of 2007, Chucky remains vocal but has not shown an ability to mimic human speech. Aquarium staff continue to work with him. [citeweb |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/02/chuck_the_seal_has_a_lot_to_say/ |publisher="The Boston Globe" |date=September 2, 2007 |author=Rebecca A. Fitzgerald |title=Chuck the seal has a lot to say ] cite news | title = Ask the Globe | work = The Boston Globe | pages = 56 | language = English | date = April 19, 1989 | accessdate = 2006-12-11]

ee also

*Vocal learning
*Talking animal
*Gef the talking mongoose
*Koko, the gorilla that knows American Sign Language
*Mister Ed, the fictional talking horse

References