Hyogo: Steller’s Sea Lion Can Imitate Human Movements; Aquarium Researchers Finds

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:54 JST, August 2, 2025

TOYOOKA, Hyogo — A sea lion named Hama can imitate human movements, according to a study led by an official at the Kinosaki Marine World aquarium in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture.

Similar abilities have been reported in animals including chimpanzees, dogs and cats, but this is the first time they have been observed in a pinniped.

Hama is known for her ability to distinguish people’s words. The 15-year-old female sea lion can respond to 50 kinds of verbal instructions to do things like salute or wave goodbye.

The aquarium has been conducting academic research on Steller’s sea lions led by caretaker Masahiro Sasaki, 35, and has published its findings in academic papers. In its latest endeavor, the aquarium studied Hama’s imitative abilities in collaboration with Akitsugu Konno, a lecturer of animal psychology at Azabu University’s School of Veterinary Medicine.

The research team trained Hama to mimic human movements, such as standing or sticking out her tongue, in response to hand signs or verbal instructions. They then taught her to imitate these movements without the signs or instructions. Ultimately, Hama successfully imitated six out of seven kinds of movements by the researchers.

Another experiment also achieved a degree of success. Hama was able to raise her flipper in imitation of a human, for instance, even though she had not previously learned such a movement.

“I think she is able to do these things because, although humans and Steller’s sea lions have different body structures, Hama has learned the common features of each body part,” Sasaki said.