A Sea Lion in Boogie Wonderland

Lion de mer Amnéville 01Back in June of 2010, my colleague and fellow blogger, Isobel, wrote a post on “Snowball the Dancing Cockatoo, YouTube and Scientific Discovery.” It featured a popular YouTube video of Snowball the sulfur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) dancing to the Backstreet Boys. Besides being adorable, and the kind of video you can’t watch without getting a big dumb grin on your face, it was notable because Snowball was ably exhibiting a behavior previously thought unique to humans: the ability to keep, and move in time with, a musical beat.

Well, it’s time to move (groove?) on over, Snowball, and make room for a new beat-keeping star. Ronan’s in town. Continue reading “A Sea Lion in Boogie Wonderland”