Seals are one of the cutest animals on the planet, thanks to their happy appearance and big eyes.

When watching seals, the average person loves how they vocalize with the grunts and how they use their flippers to either clap or slap against their bellies.

Not surprisingly, these actions are done for actual reasons, and not just to get the attention of humans. If you are only interested in the seals for their cuteness, however, make sure to check out this adorable video before continuing to read.

One study was able to capture footage of male seals clapping their flippers underwater, and they discovered that the noise it produced was of a high-frequency that cut through the background sounds.

Additional research found that when a seal claps against its belly, or even claps the flippers together, it is for a reason similar to when apes pound their chest. First and foremost, it is done to establish dominance, which can be helpful in keeping rival seals away and for attracting mates.

For apes, they pound their chest to scare away threats as well, though it is not known if this is something that the seals do at this point. In a statement, Dr. David Hocking, who was the lead author of the study and works at the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University in Australia, said:

“Depending on the context, the claps may help to ward off competitors and/or attract potential mates. Think of a chest-beating male gorilla, for example. Like seal claps, those chest beats carry two messages: I am strong, stay away; and I am strong, my genes are good.”

In addition to these evolutionary reasons behind the behavior, it is very likely that the seals have learned that humans do indeed like it when they clap. Pleasing humans is a great way to survive in any environment, and especially in captivity.

Clapping their flippers or pounding their belly is a small price to pay for some extra fish.

If you found that story interesting, learn more about why people often wake up around 3 AM and keep doing it for life.