Dancing Animals
December 19, 2011 4:54 AM Subscribe
Do any animals other than humans dance? Bonus question: Do any animals other than humans make music?
Birds sing (obviously) and dance.
Whether they make 'music' will depend on how you think of 'music'.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 5:02 AM on December 19, 2011
Whether they make 'music' will depend on how you think of 'music'.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 5:02 AM on December 19, 2011
More generally, many animals make sounds and move in specific ways as part of mating or territorial behaviour. These behaviours probably, at least in part, gave rise to human song and dance.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 5:04 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 5:04 AM on December 19, 2011
This isn't a real answer, but somewhat humorous: mosquitoes were once great musicians. But along with insects, bees would be a good candidate for dancing. There's also a chimpanzee's natural appreciation of music (although their tastes may very greatly from our own.
posted by samsara at 5:07 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by samsara at 5:07 AM on December 19, 2011
Do whale songs count as music, or just mating related communication?
posted by kellyblah at 5:34 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by kellyblah at 5:34 AM on December 19, 2011
Birds dance during courtship. As do we all. And most birds call. Sing. Make music.
posted by pracowity at 5:41 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by pracowity at 5:41 AM on December 19, 2011
Here is a scene from Animals are Beautiful People (which is one of the best films ever made, IMHO) that shows monkeys dancing, or doing cartwheels rather. (skip to 1:30 to go straight to dancing monkeys).
posted by seriousmoonlight at 5:42 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by seriousmoonlight at 5:42 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
The birds and the bees (heh) are your best candidates here. That said, you may have to define "dance" and "make music" more carefully to get a real answer to your question. If by "dance" you mean "make coordinated movements for purposes other than locomotion" then certainly both bees and birds dance. If you mean "perform elaborate motions in time to music for aesthetic effect" then maybe not. If by "make music" you mean "emit non-communicative vocal utterances" than I believe there are studies that indicate that animals will sing or call in times when they can expect no response from their behaviors, which would seem to be non-communicative to me. If instead you mean, "use tools or instruments to create rhythms and sounds for aesthetic purposes" than I think you are out of luck.
I'll let the animal behavior experts sort out the details of what animals do and don't do, but I thought it might be helpful for you to think a little more carefully about exactly what your question means, if you haven't done so already.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:23 AM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'll let the animal behavior experts sort out the details of what animals do and don't do, but I thought it might be helpful for you to think a little more carefully about exactly what your question means, if you haven't done so already.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:23 AM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Beluga whales do, though maybe only to mariachi bands.
posted by wwax at 6:25 AM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
posted by wwax at 6:25 AM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
Humpback whales sing, with different songs for different pods/geographically located groups of whales.
posted by rebekah at 6:53 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by rebekah at 6:53 AM on December 19, 2011
Chimpanzees have been recorded drumming on trees in rhythmic patterns.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:04 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:04 AM on December 19, 2011
Sifakas, depending on what you mean by dancing!
posted by pemberkins at 7:22 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by pemberkins at 7:22 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Birds can definitely dance. Just got back from a bird trip to Belize where we heard the Manikans clicking their wings and doing the Michael Jackson 'moon walk' but it happens too quickly for the naked eye to capture.
posted by birdwatcher at 10:08 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by birdwatcher at 10:08 AM on December 19, 2011
The easiest bird dance to observe for most people is the pigeon mating dance. Blew my mind the first time I saw it. This tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-TEx9K6zXM&feature=fvwrel) isn't too bad, but if the female is really into it (which this one isn't quite yet) it is really cool.
posted by bukvich at 10:35 AM on December 19, 2011
posted by bukvich at 10:35 AM on December 19, 2011
Queen bees dance to direct worker bees to pollen.
Correction: The queen is not the one who directs other bees to food. The queen's only job is to mate and lay eggs. The workers are simply directed by other workers via the "dance."
posted by mumblingmynah at 11:59 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Correction: The queen is not the one who directs other bees to food. The queen's only job is to mate and lay eggs. The workers are simply directed by other workers via the "dance."
posted by mumblingmynah at 11:59 AM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Firefly species have distinct patterns of flight and flashing for the purposes of alluring a mate. If that isn't dancing, I don't know what is.
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:34 PM on December 19, 2011
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:34 PM on December 19, 2011
Also, rabbits jump in silly ways when they are happy. This probably counts as dancing.
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:36 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Pallas Athena at 1:36 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Birds of Paradise perform a "dance" in order to woo their potential mates.
posted by smokingmonkey at 2:30 PM on December 19, 2011
posted by smokingmonkey at 2:30 PM on December 19, 2011
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posted by 4ster at 4:56 AM on December 19, 2011