Would you be willing to serenade an alligator?
In 1944, the American Museum of Natural History in New York performed an experiment called "Response of Captive Alligators to Auditory Stimulation," where naturalists observed the ancient creatures roaring in response to the pitch of certain sounds.
"A couple of months ago, I heard this wonderful story on National Public Radio about B-flat -- the note that has this mysterious effect on nature," says the Tampa Bay Times reporter in the video above.
So In 2007, the Tampa Bay Times decided to replicate the 1944 experiment at Gatorland, near Kissimmee, Fla. Watch as William Mickelsen, Florida Orchestra's principal tuba player, and John Banthers, a student at the New England Conservatory, team up with alligator wrangler Tim Williams to test the responses of the gators.
When they play a sustained B-flat through the wood of the boardwalk, the gators go wild as predicted. The roaring and bellowing of the male gators are mating calls, and in the spring months, they are especially loud.
In 1944, the American Museum of Natural History in New York performed an experiment called "Response of Captive Alligators to Auditory Stimulation," where naturalists observed the ancient creatures roaring in response to the pitch of certain sounds.
"A couple of months ago, I heard this wonderful story on National Public Radio about B-flat -- the note that has this mysterious effect on nature," says the Tampa Bay Times reporter in the video above.
So In 2007, the Tampa Bay Times decided to replicate the 1944 experiment at Gatorland, near Kissimmee, Fla. Watch as William Mickelsen, Florida Orchestra's principal tuba player, and John Banthers, a student at the New England Conservatory, team up with alligator wrangler Tim Williams to test the responses of the gators.
When they play a sustained B-flat through the wood of the boardwalk, the gators go wild as predicted. The roaring and bellowing of the male gators are mating calls, and in the spring months, they are especially loud.