Tampa residents are having trouble falling asleep at night due to the mating sounds of boisterous fish.
Residents in the Tampa Bay area reported apparent “drumming” sounds sending vibrations through their homes, causing them to raise money to investigate the strange occurrence, according to the Smithsonian. A local scientist said that the noise could be the sound of black drum fish in the act of subaqueous coitus. The fish are capable of emitting low-frequency drumming sounds by flexing their muscles against their swim blatter, the outlet reported.
Residents of a neighborhood in Tampa, Florida have wondered the origin of a strange noise. The potential culprit? According to a local scientist, the likeliest cause is a black drum fish in the mating process. pic.twitter.com/JJ8ZWO0OBD
— 1440 Daily Digest (@Join1440) January 31, 2024
Dr. James Locascio of Mote Marine explained that the black drum fish can create these low-frequency sounds, which may be the cause of the vibrations the South Tampa residents are experiencing.
“It’s a low frequency sound, and so they travel much better and go further distances, and they go through dissimilar media more efficiently,” Dr. Locascio told Fox 13.
Dr. Locascio did his dissertation on this very topic back in 2005 at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science, reports that outlet.
One resident, Sara Healy, is working with a local scientist to install microphones in the Bay to find out what the sounds truly are. She posted a video online calling for South Tampa residents to help fund this endeavor. (RELATED: Police Arrest Teen For Allegedly Taping Fish To ATM Machines: REPORT)
Black drum fish can grow up to 67 inches long and feed on other fish and invertebrates. The state record for the heaviest black drum fish caught was 96 lbs