Do animals have a sense of rhythm?

Asked by: Thomas Whitsun, Leeds

Lots of animals produce regular sounds or movements as part of communication or mating displays, but these are mostly behaviours that lack genuine rhythm.

However, the famous Thai Elephant Orchestra shows that elephants can be trained to beat different drumming rhythms without any external synchronisation cues. So some animals have an innate sense of rhythm or can acquire one through practice.

Read more:

• When did humans first make music?
• Do any other animals play music?

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