When It Comes to Keeping Time to Music, Ronan the Sea Lion Can't be Beat, Scientists Say

When it comes to keeping time with a thumping dance tune, Ronan the sea lion can’t be beat. That is, at least not by 10 college students who took her on in a recent study.  

Ronan is a 15-year-old California water mammal. And she was already a legend prior to the study. She's a pinniped who has wowed researchers since she was 3. She's known for her precise head-bobbing to music. She’s got Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind & Fire nailed.

Scientists once believed that only creatures with vocal learning abilities could achieve this feat. (Such creatures include parrots, humans, and other primates.) How wrong they were. 

The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. It showed that Ronan still has her stuff. Plus, she’s better than ever. In fact, she soars past a raft of rivals. 

“No other non-human animal is as precise and consistent as Ronan is,” Peter Cook, a lead study author, told the BBC. Cook's also a New College of Florida neuroscientist. 

The researchers put Ronan's rhythmic skills up against the students at keeping time with mere percussion beats, not actual music, that shifted tempo from 112-128 beats per minute. Ronan had never bopped to two of the rhythms the researchers exposed her to. She beat all takers. 

Ronan was so precise that she hit the beat within 15 milliseconds. That's ten times faster than the blink of a human eye! Plus, Ronan consistently beat the students in accuracy and reached the 99th percentile in a model that simulated 10,000 people attempting the same task.

Not only that, Cook told The Associated Press (AP), Ronan demonstrated learning ability. “She’s much better,” he said, “than when she was a kid.” 

Reflect: What is a skill you’ve practiced that you’ve gotten better at over time?

Gif of a dancing sea lion from GIPHY.