Dr Midnight
Explorer
In one of the coolest weird news stories I've seen in some time:
Barry White in shark mating role
BIRMINGHAM, England --Staff at a marine centre have turned to the "Walrus of Love" to try to get their shy sharks in the mood for mating.
The love ballards of soul legend Barry White -- known as the Walrus of Love by his fans -- are being pumped in to tanks containing dogfish, starry smooth hounds and tope at The National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham, central England.
The music -- which also includes other collections of love songs -- is being seen as a last resort measure and comes just days before Valentines Day.
It is commonly thought that sharks detect sound through their internal radar system which they interpret as vibrations.
But new research by U.S. scientists at the Rowland Institute for Science in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has found that fish can appreciate and identify different types of music.
So has Barry White -- whose hits include I'm Just Gonna Love You A Little Bit More, Baby, and Cant Get Enough Of Your Love, Baby -- given the sharks good vibrations?
Karen Hewlett, an aquarist at the centre, told CNN: "Nothing has happened yet but we hope that if anyone can persuade them it will be Barry White.
"We'll know if it does the trick by their behaviour, because in the early stages of shark courtship, the male chases the female at high speed and attempts to bite her back and dorsal fin, which actually isn't very romantic."
The centre, which has several tanks, is targeting one particular tank where none of the fish appears to be mating.
Hewlett said: "The temperature is the same in all the tanks so its not as if they are uncomfortable.
"At the moment we are playing the music in the room where the tank is but we may pipe it underwater.
"When we dive with the fish and the music is playing its quite audible."
Josie Sutherland, a curator at the attraction, said: "We've already experienced fantastic success with breeding many species at the centre but I'm always open to new ideas."
http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/12/barry.sharks/index.html
Barry White in shark mating role
BIRMINGHAM, England --Staff at a marine centre have turned to the "Walrus of Love" to try to get their shy sharks in the mood for mating.
The love ballards of soul legend Barry White -- known as the Walrus of Love by his fans -- are being pumped in to tanks containing dogfish, starry smooth hounds and tope at The National Sea Life Centre, Birmingham, central England.
The music -- which also includes other collections of love songs -- is being seen as a last resort measure and comes just days before Valentines Day.
It is commonly thought that sharks detect sound through their internal radar system which they interpret as vibrations.
But new research by U.S. scientists at the Rowland Institute for Science in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has found that fish can appreciate and identify different types of music.
So has Barry White -- whose hits include I'm Just Gonna Love You A Little Bit More, Baby, and Cant Get Enough Of Your Love, Baby -- given the sharks good vibrations?
Karen Hewlett, an aquarist at the centre, told CNN: "Nothing has happened yet but we hope that if anyone can persuade them it will be Barry White.
"We'll know if it does the trick by their behaviour, because in the early stages of shark courtship, the male chases the female at high speed and attempts to bite her back and dorsal fin, which actually isn't very romantic."
The centre, which has several tanks, is targeting one particular tank where none of the fish appears to be mating.
Hewlett said: "The temperature is the same in all the tanks so its not as if they are uncomfortable.
"At the moment we are playing the music in the room where the tank is but we may pipe it underwater.
"When we dive with the fish and the music is playing its quite audible."
Josie Sutherland, a curator at the attraction, said: "We've already experienced fantastic success with breeding many species at the centre but I'm always open to new ideas."
http://www.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/12/barry.sharks/index.html
