Backstreet Boys have a new fan in California sea lion Ronan. The 3-year-old likes to jive to different songs, including BSB's "Everybody."
Ronan is also partial to "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind and Fire and John Fogerty's "Down on the Corner." She is an excellent dancer and has offered scientists "first empirical evidence" that an animal that is unable to mimic voices can still shake a leg to some popular tunes.
According to new research data published by the American Psychological Association, the findings of the study challenge current scientific theories that suggest an animal's ability to synchronize its movements with sound are linked to the "same brain mechanisms that allow for vocal mimicry in humans and some birds such as cockatoos, parrots, and budgerigars."
Co-author of the study, Colleen Reichmuth, a researcher with the Institute of Marine Science at the University of California at Santa Cruz, believes that in order to understand the cognitive abilities of animals better, one requires a carefully controlled environment.
"This study is particularly rigorous because it examines, step-by-step, the learning conditions that supported the emergence of this complex behavior," Reichmuth notes.
Researcher Peter Cook conducted six experiments at the Long Marine Lab at the University of California-Santa Cruz, which displayed Ronan's ability to bob to music beats.
Says Cook, in the past, dancing was thought to be unique to humans:
"Dancing is universal among humans, and until recently, it was thought to be unique to humans as well," said Cook. "When some species of birds were found to have a similar capability for rhythmic movement, it was linked to their ability to mimic sound. Now we're seeing that even mammals with limited vocal ability can move in time with a beat over a broad range of sounds and tempos."
However, researchers now note that mammals that are unable to mimic voice can still keep to a beat, as well as respond to several sounds and tempos.
Ronan was first trained to dance to a simplified section of "Down on the Corner" and later she was able to bob her head to "Everybody" and "Boogie Wonderland." She also demonstrated the ability to follow five different tempos in "Boogie Wonderland."
Researchers also noted that Ronan's dancing skills improved dramatically over the course of the experiments. A follow-up test several weeks after the final session showed that the sea lion was still able to keep to the beat of each of the sounds previously used.
Ronan was initially trained to bob in time to a hand signal. This was soon replaced by a non-musical sound signal. As an incentive, Ronan was rewarded with a fish whenever she successfully finished tests by "dancing" to diverse rhythmic sounds.
Check out Ronan jiving in the video below.
