Silly Baby Seal With Tongue Out Ponsuke Kun

2022viral videoclassic

Silly Baby Seal With Tongue Out is a viral 2022 video of Ponsuke-kun, a baby seal at a Japanese rescue center, who appears to wink and stick his tongue out at the camera. The clip exploded on Instagram and Twitter, spawning image macros before the seal's death in May 2023.

animal memesreaction memesrescue animal memesjapanese internet memesdeath hoax tragedy memes

Overview

Silly Baby Seal With Tongue Out, also called Smiling And Winking Baby Seal, is a short clip of a Japanese baby seal named Ponsuke-kun (ポンすけくん) who appears to wink at the camera while his tongue pokes out sideways1. The footage came from Ponsuke-kun's home, the Okhotsk Tokkari Center in Mombetsu, Hokkaido, a rehabilitation facility that goes by the nickname Seal Land2.

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The expression looked so exaggerated that viewers immediately read it as a cartoon face, comparing it to the emoji sequence 😌😛 and to popular silly cat memes like BLEHHHHH :P Cat3. Screenshots of the peak wink frame were quickly repurposed as reaction images with self-deprecating captions3.

How It Spread

Later that same day, Twitter user @Shbloing reposted the video with the two-emoji caption "😌😛," and that tweet racked up around 9.5 million views and 423,300 likes in 11 days3. The repost kicked off a wave of quote tweets treating Ponsuke-kun as a ready-made reaction face. On May 30th, 2022, @andolynparrish captioned a screenshot "Me walking past a mirror while crying," and on May 31st, @awholeassmood photoshopped tiny hands throwing peace signs and Hello Kitty hairclips onto the seal3.

Reddit picked up the clip almost as fast. On May 31st, 2022, /u/westcoastcdn19 posted it to /r/AnimalsBeingDerps for about 35,500 upvotes, and the next day /u/tamilvanan31 crossposted it to /r/aww where it earned roughly 53,900 upvotes4. On June 8th, 2022, Twitter user @avantgodjazz released a parody "Now That" edit rebranding Ponsuke-kun as a bloodthirsty killer, which drew about 29,500 views in two days3.

On May 4th, 2023, @tokkaricenter_official posted a photo carousel announcing that Ponsuke-kun had died earlier that day, with the caregiver writing "Thank you Pon-chan. I love you so much"5. Fans flooded Instagram with tribute posts, including a mourning video from @nectarplasm the same day6.

How to Use This Meme

The meme typically works as a reaction image using the frame where Ponsuke-kun's eye is squeezed shut and his tongue is out sideways. A common convention pairs the screenshot with a caption about a chaotic or embarrassing inner state, in the vein of "me walking past a mirror while crying"3. Editors often add cartoon accessories such as peace-sign hands or Hello Kitty hairclips to push the silly-cat energy further3.

Frequently Asked Questions

Silly Baby Seal With Tongue Out Ponsuke Kun

2022viral videoclassic

Silly Baby Seal With Tongue Out is a viral 2022 video of Ponsuke-kun, a baby seal at a Japanese rescue center, who appears to wink and stick his tongue out at the camera. The clip exploded on Instagram and Twitter, spawning image macros before the seal's death in May 2023.

animal memes reaction memes rescue animal memes japanese internet memes death hoax tragedy memes

Overview

Silly Baby Seal With Tongue Out, also called Smiling And Winking Baby Seal, is a short clip of a Japanese baby seal named Ponsuke-kun (ポンすけくん) who appears to wink at the camera while his tongue pokes out sideways1. The footage came from Ponsuke-kun's home, the Okhotsk Tokkari Center in Mombetsu, Hokkaido, a rehabilitation facility that goes by the nickname Seal Land2.

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The expression looked so exaggerated that viewers immediately read it as a cartoon face, comparing it to the emoji sequence 😌😛 and to popular silly cat memes like BLEHHHHH :P Cat3. Screenshots of the peak wink frame were quickly repurposed as reaction images with self-deprecating captions3.

How It Spread

Later that same day, Twitter user @Shbloing reposted the video with the two-emoji caption "😌😛," and that tweet racked up around 9.5 million views and 423,300 likes in 11 days3. The repost kicked off a wave of quote tweets treating Ponsuke-kun as a ready-made reaction face. On May 30th, 2022, @andolynparrish captioned a screenshot "Me walking past a mirror while crying," and on May 31st, @awholeassmood photoshopped tiny hands throwing peace signs and Hello Kitty hairclips onto the seal3.

Reddit picked up the clip almost as fast. On May 31st, 2022, /u/westcoastcdn19 posted it to /r/AnimalsBeingDerps for about 35,500 upvotes, and the next day /u/tamilvanan31 crossposted it to /r/aww where it earned roughly 53,900 upvotes4. On June 8th, 2022, Twitter user @avantgodjazz released a parody "Now That" edit rebranding Ponsuke-kun as a bloodthirsty killer, which drew about 29,500 views in two days3.

On May 4th, 2023, @tokkaricenter_official posted a photo carousel announcing that Ponsuke-kun had died earlier that day, with the caregiver writing "Thank you Pon-chan. I love you so much"5. Fans flooded Instagram with tribute posts, including a mourning video from @nectarplasm the same day6.

How to Use This Meme

The meme typically works as a reaction image using the frame where Ponsuke-kun's eye is squeezed shut and his tongue is out sideways. A common convention pairs the screenshot with a caption about a chaotic or embarrassing inner state, in the vein of "me walking past a mirror while crying"3. Editors often add cartoon accessories such as peace-sign hands or Hello Kitty hairclips to push the silly-cat energy further3.

Frequently Asked Questions