Book 33, Question 33
Why do baby mammals play?
Play looks like fun, and it is.
It is also practice. Young lions pounce at tails, puppies tumble in play fights, and young goats leap and run. These games build strong muscles, quick reflexes, and social skills. When the babies grow up, they will need all of those skills. Play is how baby mammals train their bodies and brains.
Watch the videoWatch on YouTubeSee the series on Amazon
Quick answers
Why do baby mammals play?
One popular class of accounts is that play offers practice for serious adult behaviour, but little has been done to model the circumstances where this could be true.
Source: National Institutes of Health
More fun facts
- Within playing mammals, although adult play is seen in some species, play is predominantly exhibited in juveniles.
- Charles Darwin made references to observed behaviors among animals that he interpreted as playing.
- Social play involves interactions between two or more animals, not necessarily conspecific, for instance chasing or mock fighting.
- Critics have argued that play behavior in animals is restricted to the realm of mammals, and maybe birds, and particularly social mammals like most primates and many carnivore and hoofstock species.
Sources: National Institutes of Health, zooatlanta.org