Anecdotal Observations of Socially Learned Vocalizations in Harbor Seals

Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are more solitary than many other pinnipeds. Yet, they are capable of vocal learning, a form of social learning. Most extant literature examines social animals when investigating social learning, despite sociality not being a prerequisite. Here, we report two formerly s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Animal Behavior and Cognition
Main Authors: Diandra Duengen, Martin Polotzek, Eoin P. O’Sullivan, Andrea Ravignani
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Animal Behavior and Cognition 2024
Subjects:
phoca vitulina
marine mammal
vocal learning
social learning
semi-solitary
Zoology
QL1-991
Phoca vitulina
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.11.03.04.2024
https://doaj.org/article/a207bf3ea7294c1ea5e173efd210b33b
Description
Summary:Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) are more solitary than many other pinnipeds. Yet, they are capable of vocal learning, a form of social learning. Most extant literature examines social animals when investigating social learning, despite sociality not being a prerequisite. Here, we report two formerly silent harbor seals who initiated vocalizations, after having repeatedly observed a conspecific receiving food rewards for vocalizing. Our observations suggest both social and vocal learning in a group of captive harbor seals, a species that lives semi-solitarily in the wild. We propose that, in this case, social learning acted as a shortcut to acquiring food rewards compared to the comparatively costly asocial learning.

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