AT THE SMITHSONIAN

You Otter Believe These Zoo Animals Can Play the Piano, the Harmonica and the Xylophone

D.C.’s hottest summer concert is brought to us by an unlikely source: a bevy of animal musicians

May 28, 2014

All great musicians are misunderstood at first...unless they're as cute as these performers.

A group of the National Zoo's Asian Small-Clawed Otters recently performed a genre (and species) shattering song: a discordant, eight-pawed keyboard jam that will guarantee a loyal fan base at the Smithsonian, if not a Carnegie Hall spotlight.

The maestros get to flex their musical muscles (and claws) as part of an exercise in "animal enrichment"—activities designed to stimulate their sight, touch and hearing senses.

But the otters aren't the only ones cutting their first demo tapes. One of the Zoo's orangutans channelled her inner Teddy Brown on a xylophone, and a sloth bear cub did her best Billy Joel impersonation with a heartfelt harmonica solo.

Here's hoping that Bao Bao will soon get a trombone.

For more updates on the National Zoo's animal enrichment, follow them on Twitter at @NationalZoo and search for #ZooEnrichment