No Joke: Animals Laugh, Too

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Life can be funny, and not just for humans.

Studies by various groups suggest monkeys, dogs and even rats love a good laugh. People, meanwhile, have been laughing since before they could talk.

"Indeed, neural circuits for laughter exist in very ancient regions of the brain, and ancestral forms of play and laughter existed in other animals eons before we humans came along with our 'ha-ha-has' and verbal repartee," says Jaak Panksepp, a neuroscientist at Bowling Green State University.

When chimps play and chase each other, they pant in a manner that is strikingly like human laughter, Panksepp writes in the April 1 issue of the journal Science. Dogs have a similar response.

Rats chirp while they play, again in a way that resembles our giggles. Panksepp found in a previous study that when rats are playfully tickled, they chirp and bond socially with their human tickler. And they seem to like it, seeking to be tickled more. Apparently joyful rats also preferred to hang out with other chirpers.

this is very funny...

i didn't know this...

did you???

ENJOY!!!

Hayenas laugh all the time dont they? Or is that really laughing? I think I heard this somewhere before, but good link anyways.

This actually does not surprise me. I always thought that doggies laughed. I'll be sure to look out for other animals laughing.

Originally posted by Ignignot
Hayenas laugh all the time dont they? Or is that really laughing? I think I heard this somewhere before, but good link anyways.

That's funny

Great news submission! Intelligence in animals has always been a curiosity of mine, and I must say it's fascinating. If they can laugh... does this meen they can cry? I would think so then. Perhaps mammals can experience a full range of what we consider human emotions.

Certainly dolphins laugh, as do birds. It's mostly a social behavior to make those around you feel comfortable, probably has its origins in countering threat displays, or something.

Good post.

Edit: I forgot to mention, my cat doesn't laugh, but he does smile and stick his tongue out of his mouth, just a tiny bit, about a millimeter or two. And he winks too. It's hilarious.

[edit on 2-4-2005 by WyrdeOne]

"If they can laugh... does this meen they can cry?"

Animals can definately cry. Yesterday, I was visiting my boyfriend at his work at a dog grooming facility, and one of the employees was grooming a dog with quite a few serious infections, one being in it's paw. That poor dog was whimpering and what seemed to me like crying, everyime she touched it's paw. It was really sad.

Good post though!

Hey I swear by my pets they are laughing all the time, occurs I love them to death.

I can tell when they are sad, doing something that they should not and when they are happy and satisfy.

Oh, I do agree with you, Marg. I have 3 kitties who are so loving and smart. When I talk to them and scratch behind their ears and under their neck it looks like they are smiling. When I laugh at something, one laughs with me...really! Another is so smart - pees in the toilet and then comes to tell me so I can say "good boy" to him. I pat my upper chest area and he jumps into my arms to me to cuddle.

I'm on holiday and miss them so much!

My girlfriend's cat is on Prozac because she just moved and the poor thing was terrified for months. Since Boo Boo has been on meds, she has been, for lack of a better word, extremely happy. Instead of being huddled under the bed, she stretches out in the sun all day, purring constantly, chasing imaginary bugs and acting very friendly.

Cats definitely have basic emotions. And I swear that my cat smiles when I tickle his paws...

Originally posted by Ignignot
Hayenas laugh all the time dont they? Or is that really laughing? I think I heard this somewhere before, but good link anyways.

What sounds to us as laughter is actually theyre barking or growling or something along those lines.


I dont know if my cats have ever laughed but I see them smile all the time, and I know when my cat is sad because its raing and she cant go out.

there are some scientists who need to spend some time outside of the lab instead of tickling animals. Just my take on it

[edit on 4-4-2005 by saint4God]

Im sure my snake laughed when it shat on me recently! I didnt!

i'm a huge dog person and i believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that my dogs laugh.

you can see when they're playing with you that the more fun they have the more the grin and laugh.

no doubt about it....................and when they pull a trick on their human.....they DEFINITELY are laughing their hinnys off about it!!

i also think that my horses do the same thing. because when they're playing by the tilt of their head and the gleam in their eyes and the whinnys they make.................no doubt.............LAUGHING.


angie