An Estonian seal-watching cruise company is using classical music to attract seals for its patrons. Inspired by a historical tale, Prangli Travel confirmed yesterday to local outlet ERR News that pumping classical music into the water seems to tempt the Baltic Sea’s largest mammals to the surface.

Photo © Julia Panasiuk/Unsplash

“The rhythms and harmonies in classical music are calm and flowing,” said Prangli Travel guide Epp Libe.

“Seals are also very curious, and because it’s not a natural sound in the marine environment, it draws them in.”

Estonia’s Malusi Islands are home to the main habitat of grey seals in the Gulf of Finland, where this connection between seals and music is enshrined in its history. On its website, Prangli Travel cites family memoirs from island Aksi, which tells the tale of local brothers Aleksander and Gustav Askberg. Sailing to Finland on a 1894 cargo trip, they played violin and harmonium to keep themselves occupied during the journey and soon discovered a group of seals following their boat and vocalising along.

Thanks to this story, yearly seal-watching trips have become a popular tradition for visitors.

In 2025, researchers from the University of New South Wales and the University of Massachusetts found that leopard seals have sequential patterns in their vocal repertoire, similar to nursery rhymes. While the exact purpose of these calls is unknown, there is a distinct correlation between the vocal behaviour of seals and the nature of their mating system. 

Specific vocal sequences may also serve as a way to communicate about the identity of each seal.

Similarly, song plays a vital role in other mammalian animals and “allows us to make inferences on the behavioural significance of sequence structure.” Another 2022 study conducted in Italy found that classical music has a positive effect on the social behaviour of dolphins, and suggests that it can be used to facilitate positive social behaviour.