These animals dance better than many people

Until recently, it was thought that only humans could feel the beat of the music and therefore the only ones who can dance. Some are better than others. At best, it could be something that can be extrapolated to other primates, because of the relationship, but did not think that there are many more animals with this ability. Nonetheless cockatoo They came to show that the rhythm actually flows through their veins. And How! We assumed they could too, but it was still something exceptional. However, now we know what is really there are more musical animals.

In fact, two recent studies have added to the list and rats and seals. The former are very similar to cockatoos in that they can follow the rhythm of the music with their body. Does this mean they are dancing? According to what we mean by dance. As for the seals, they do not dance, but they are interested in certain rhythmic patterns and duration. This alone is already much more than most animals.

Therefore, no, we are not the only animals with the ability feel the beat of the music and dance. In fact, perhaps there are animals more gifted at dancing than many of us.

cockatoos dance better than you

Snowball this is Eleanor cockatoo who became famous for conducting several studies on the dancing abilities of birds of her species. The first of these studies was published in 2009 and simply showed that could keep up with the music with his body without any preparation previous. This is important because there are some animals that can dance if taught, but they are not born with the ability to do so.

But Snowball can’t just move to the beat of the music. In a second study published in 2019, it was shown that cockatoos can even put songs. In each song he used certain dance steps, so he did much more than just feel the rhythm.

Rats also feel the beat of music.

A recent study shows that rats can also move to the beat of music. Okay, they don’t do it with the same art as Snowball, and they don’t use their own choreography either. But the simple fact that they move to the sound of the melody this is already interesting enough.

This study, recently published in science forwardetc., it is also analyzed whether the rhythm that awakens the movements of rodents the equivalent of brain or body time. The first describes the speed at which nerve cells can respond to a stimulus, and interestingly, it is very similar across animal species. As for the second, it refers to the movement of the body and the frequency of steps; therefore, logically, it is higher in small animals.

To see which of the two rhythms matched better, they subjected a group of rats to a 60-second exposure. Sonata for two pianos in D major from Mozartby changing its speed. In particular, they heard 75%, 100%, 200% and 400%. Normal playback speed for this song 132 pulses per minute. As for the rats, they moved their heads more in accordance with the music when it was played at 120 to 140 beats per minute, so it was within reach.

On the other hand, people who participated in the experiment they shook their heads like rats, the level of twitching decreased as the speed of the melody increased. This shows that they really tend to follow the music according to the rhythm of the brain, not the body.

This is what they saw in Mozart, but they also wanted to analyze the results with something more relevant, like Lady Gaga or Queen. In fact, the theme chosen by the British group was Another one is crushed to dust, just one of Snowball’s favorite songs. Again, this innate timing was discovered, albeit without the cockatoo choreography.

Seals do not need training

A study recently published in Biology Letters, also analyze how cats feel the rhythm. But in your case, it’s something else. Let’s start with the fact that not human music was used, but melodies from cries of puppies. The only thing that has been done is to vary parameters such as the speed or duration of the notes. That is, the number of impulses per unit time and the number of impulses of a single sound. In addition, regular and irregular sequences were used.

The goal was to see if seals were attracted to this music. And if so, what are your preferred options. For this we used ordinary fillings (Foca vitulina) who were in a rescue center before being released back into the wild. They were not trained animals.

It was observed that indeed when they listened to music they tended to look at its origin, and they did this especially when the sounds were longer, faster and regularly. This indicates that they are indeed capable of discerning rhythm, as they were not attracted to music without more. However, they did not move their bodies in unison, so it cannot be said that they can dancelike rats or cockatoos

However, again, they may have a better sense of rhythm than many people. It is enough to go to karaoke at 2 am to make sure that we do not have as many musical gifts as we would like to believe. Other animals They are far superior to us.