Additional Coverage:
- Ronan the sea lion can keep a beat better than humans (nbcnews.com)
Ronan the Sea Lion Still Rocks a Beat
Move over, Snowball the cockatoo, there’s another grooving animal in town! Ronan, a 15-year-old California sea lion, is making waves (and beats) with her incredible ability to dance to music.
A decade ago, Ronan first gained fame for her rhythmic prowess, busting the myth that only vocal learners like humans and parrots could find a beat. Now, new research confirms Ronan’s still got it – and she’s better than ever.
Living at the University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory since she was 3, Ronan has honed her skills under the watchful eye of researchers like Peter Cook, a behavioral neuroscientist at New College of Florida. While she can move to various genres, from rock to electronica, it’s disco that really gets Ronan going. “She just nails ‘Boogie Wonderland’,” says Cook, describing how she perfectly sways her head to the song’s tempo changes.
Recently, Cook and his team put Ronan’s talents to the test, challenging her with live percussion beats at three different tempos – two of which were completely new to her. They also had ten college students try the same beat-keeping task, waving their forearms in time to the music.
The result? Ronan out-bopped them all!
“No human was better than Ronan at all the different ways we test quality of beat-keeping,” Cook confirms, adding that she’s even better now than when she first started.
This latest study, published in Scientific Reports, solidifies Ronan’s status as a superstar in the animal music world. Researchers are eager to see if other sea lions share her rhythmic gifts, but Cook suspects Ronan will remain a standout performer. So next time you’re at a disco, remember Ronan the sea lion, proving that musical talent can be found in the most unexpected places.
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- Ronan the sea lion can keep a beat better than humans (nbcnews.com)