Chart-topping singer Seal may have competition from his namesakes after researchers discovered that Grey seals can copy human speech and music.
They found that one seal in particular, called Zola, was "particularly good" at copying melodies that were played to her, copying up to 10 notes of songs such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and other popular themes.
Two other seals were taught combinations of human vowel sounds that they copied accurately.
The University of St Andrews study, published in the journal Current Biology, found that seals could even be a new model system to study speech disorders.
Researchers worked with three young grey seals and monitored them from birth to determine their natural repertoire. The seal trip were then trained to copy.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here