Dolphins already get a pretty great wrap in being regularly cited as the most intelligent and human-friendly species of the ocean.
Now thanks to some strange new findings the marine mammals are being credited with having great taste in music as well.
The news arrives via Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, which has uncovered that the resort’s aquatic A-listers have developed a taste for a particular soundtrack, with none other than influential Oxford outfit Radiohead topping their list of favourites, as Radar Online reports (in far more positive news than the last time the world of dolphins and music tragically intersected).
The Las Vegan dolphins received their dose of the Thom Yorke-fronted band as part of their yoga exercises, with instructor Willow Withy hosting regular ‘Yoga with the Dolphins’ sessions at the hotel’s specialised enclosure.
“Our dolphins seem to really resonate with Radiohead music, and especially the song ‘Lotus Flower’,” Withy reveals.
“As soon as I put it on, they come up to the window and their play patterns become more fluid, friendly, and they are curious about what is going on in the yoga room. They rub against the windows, walls, and express more sensory connection. It feels like mutually shared experience as they appreciate the yoga and music together. I would say they are happy.” “As soon as I put it on, they come up to the window and their play patterns become more fluid, friendly, and they are curious about what is going on…”
Rather than resonating directly with the King of Limbs single’s music and buddhist-inspired lyrics, or even the ace dance moves of the bowler-hat wearing Thom Yorke, the dolphins instead are vibing off the tune’s good vibrations – quite literally – through the use of sonar.
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“The speakers do not go into the water, but through the windows the dolphins absorb the vibrations of the music,” explains Withy. “Dolphins don’t have great hearing, but hear and see through sonar resonance. It is how they interpret the world.”
The yoga instructor, who has been conducting the one-of-a-kind classes for two years, adds that she’s been trying an array of music styles since noticing the mammals’ Radiohead fandom. She’s exposed them to the likes of Sigur Rós, Andrew Bird, MC Yogi, and Earth Rise Sound System.
Her dolphins also responded well to The Beatles and Pink Floyd, but Flipper and co. flipped out further to the sitar music of Anoushka Shankar.
“They appreciate the music, the way it flows with the yoga practice, and their movements are more in tune with that,” explains Withy, who says the dolphins have even synchronised their swimming with their custom soundtrack.
“When I first come in, I often do headstands,” says the yoga instructor. “They swim down and wait at the window like happy puppies and wait for me to do a headstand. They often mimic my moves and go upside down like they are joining in. It is a very moving experience and I feel I have bonded with them.”
Dolphin expert Diana Reiss tells The Huffington Post that the mammals’ mimicry is a common occurrence, and may be mutually exclusive to their musical appreciation. “Dolphins are highly imitative animals. They learn by watching others in their social group and imitating what they do. Often, this imitation will include imitating others who are not dolphins as well.”
Commenting on their rapture with Radiohead, Reiss notes: “I think it’s possible that these dolphins find certain rhythms and frequencies interesting.”
Meanwhile, the Wild Dolphin Foundation’s Tori Cullins further explains to Radar Online how “percussive tunes seem to provoke the most interesting responses” in dolphin behaviour.
“I haven’t heard of them specifically listening to Radiohead,” she admits, “but it is common knowledge among our community that they like new-agey music like Enya. Rock music seems to stress them and jazz is the worst, while classical and country music has seen them relaxed.”
Dolphin remix album, anyone?
