
Ducks engage in so-called coordinated loafing, which means they basically just hang around together. Animals with more neocortex or forebrain typically live in larger groups and have more complex social relations. 3 Among these species, most of the variation in brain size occurs in the forebrain different mammals or birds of a given body size will have about the same amount of brain stem but very different amounts of neocortex (in mammals) or forebrain (in birds). In mammals and birds, this boils down to a simple rule: If your species has a big brain for its body size, you probably engage in social play. Social play is especially prominent in animals that show a lot of behavioral flexibility or plasticity. Pretending is a major component of social play.

Social play can take many forms, including mock fighting, chasing, and wrestling. The third and most sophisticated form of play is social play. (The term locomotor has to do with coordinated movement, such as crawling, walking, or running.) Locomotor play is common among animals that move around a lot-for instance, those that swim, fly, or live in trees-and, notably, often must get away from predators. About as common is locomotor play, such as leaping about for no apparent reason. Object play is typically found in species that hunt, scavenge, or eat a wide variety of foods. Most common is object play that’s what Pigface does with basketballs and hoops. Play researchers (there’s a fun-sounding job) recognize three major types of play. Play takes different forms in different animals, including humans, and its content provides some hint as to what purpose it might serve. Furthermore, the features of his play are distinctive not only to him but also to humans in general. In other words, when your child is playing, he is doing something crucial for his development. This universality suggests that even though play is literally fun and games, it must serve some vital function. 2 It appears in many animals with far less social complexity than people have. The fact that play is so widespread suggests that it arose long ago in the history of animals. YouTube videos of Komodo dragons swallowing whole pigs-or even other Komodo dragons-suggest that these food-oriented behaviors are not easily confused with play. If the plastic ring is coated in tasty linseed oil or animal blood, playfulness vanishes and turns into a pronounced possessiveness. The lizard’s behavior is not just displaced foraging or hunting.
#Play endorphin wrestling movie
A movie of a Komodo dragon playing looks quite a bit like one of a dog, only slowed down to about half speed. It can pick notebooks and other objects out of a familiar keeper’s pockets and then walk around carrying them in its mouth.

The largest monitor species, the Komodo “dragon” lizard, plays tug-of-war with its keepers over a plastic ring. At the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., monitor lizards play games of keep-away. These criteria for play are met by leaping needlefish, water-frolicking alligators, and prankish lizards. Third, play occurs when an animal is not under stress and does not have something more pressing to do. It appears to be done for its own sake and is voluntary and pleasurable. Second, play has no immediate survival purpose. 1 First, play resembles a serious behavior, such as hunting or escaping, but is done by a young animal or is exaggerated, awkward, or otherwise altered. How can we be sure that an animal is playing? Researchers use three criteria. Play is widespread among animals, beyond the familiar cases of mammals and birds, to vertebrates and even invertebrates.
