{"id":14869,"date":"2024-12-09T19:59:37","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T19:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=14869"},"modified":"2024-12-13T22:47:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T22:47:55","slug":"do-animals-laugh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/do-animals-laugh\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Animals Laugh?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How laughter connects us across species<\/b><\/h2>\n

The giggles, the wheezing, the tears, the silent-buckled-over-cackles, the hold-on-to-your-bladder for dear life \u2013 these are all signs you\u2019ve been exposed to a contagious condition humans know as laughter. It\u2019s one of the best and the most natural impulses in humans and social evolution. But what about wildlife? Do they get the giggles? Do their bellies shake like a bowl of jelly when they laugh? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The short answer is yes, but not how one might think. A recent UCLA study says that there are 65 species of animals that laugh<\/a>! The study combed through existing literature on animal play behaviour and looked for mentions of vocal play signals and found that a variety of primates, cows, dogs, foxes, seals and several bird species seem to laugh.<\/p>\n

Many previous studies focused on visual play; vocal signals are shown to be more widespread!<\/p>\n

The study noted that much of what is considered “play\u201d can resemble fighting \u2013 the rough and tumble \u2013 and play sounds can help distinguish between the two. A.k.a. \u201cThis is playtime, I\u2019m not going to actually bite you\u201d sounds to help the interaction not escalate into real aggression. What do these sound like? The study states that it varied, and sounds were categorized as either noisy or tonal, loud or quiet, high or low-pitched, short or long, a single call or rhythmic pattern. Diverse play vocalizations can sound like chuckles, chatters, squeals and peeps in some animals, while in others laughter isn\u2019t audible to human ears and vocalizations are ultrasonic.<\/p>\n

\"\"You\u2019re really here because you want to hear some animals laugh. But let\u2019s get something clear \u2013 many of the examples below have videos of wildlife species domesticated in wildlife rescue centres or in zoos and carried out by trained wildlife care professionals.<\/p>\n

Petting wild animals is something you should <\/b>never<\/b> do \u2013 not in the wild, not at home. <\/b><\/p>\n

Funny Foxes<\/b><\/h3>\n