Seal’s ‘Strategic’ Way of Getting Tourist To Buy It Food Delights Viewers

A video of a seal using its “puppy dog eyes” to lure tourists at an aquarium has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by @kimfragoso555 and has garnered more than 1.8 million views since it was first shared on November 9. The moment was captured at the Seaside Aquarium in Oregon, according to a later comment by the poster. The footage begins with a view of a seal and its face shown against a small window on the side of a large tank.
The seal’s head is tilted to the side while staring at the camera as a voice in the clip says: “Oh yes, sir. I’m buying you the food.” The camera turns toward a counter with a sign that reads: “Seal Food $2 Per Tray.”
The voice adds, “He’s getting it [the food] for me right now,” as the camera zooms in on the seal’s face against the window before the clips. A caption shared with the post simply reads: “Oh. He knew what was about to happen.” Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
One might be inclined to think that the seals at the venue are starving, but they are “fed on a regular schedule,” the aquarium notes on its website.
Any apparent tactics deployed to get tourists to buy them food appear to be self-taught as the seals are not trained by the staff. “These hams really enjoy what they are doing and have developed their tricks on their own. Each seal has a distinct personality,” according to the aquarium.
The Seaside Aquarium boasts a long history of successful seal breeding, with all of its resident seals having been born at the aquarium, which is governed by “the Department of Agriculture and the standards and regulations they set,” the website says.
The aquarium undergoes inspections twice a year “without notice,” and has a trained veterinarian who does monthly checkups.
The website notes: “We were the first aquarium in the world to successfully breed harbor seals in captivity. Now we concentrate on intentional parenthood. Some of the seals that are with us today are sixth-generation aquarium born and raised animals.
“These seals would probably not survive if they were released. Studies by the National Marine Fisheries Service indicate that harbor seals that have remained in captivity for more than one year do not readily adapt to life in the wild,” the aquarium says.
Viewers on TikTok were delighted by the seal’s antics in the viral video.
LeeJane noted, “The puppy dog eyes,” and Shojo posted: “He knows how to use the [sad eyes emoji].”
Jphotos wrote of the “strategic placement of guilt window,” and Loubi commented: “That’s some marketing strategy they have.”
Matthew Archbold added: “They’ve basically setup an infinite money glitch for that place. How could you not with that guilt staring at you like that.”
User @the_blood_wyrm wrote: “They put that window there on purpose.”
GlassyASMR said: “He’s ordering at the Swim Up Window.”
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