WEBVTT - Do Animals Laugh?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Have you

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<v Speaker 1>ever tried to tell a joke to an animal? I've

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<v Speaker 1>done it before, I talked to my dogs, whatever. But

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<v Speaker 1>this this is brain stuff and I'm Christian Seger. So

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<v Speaker 1>here's the question. Can animals laugh? In some cases this

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<v Speaker 1>might sound ridiculous. There are many different types of laughter,

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<v Speaker 1>and generally speaking, these types fall into two broad categories,

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<v Speaker 1>complex social laughter, where you have to know the context

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<v Speaker 1>or have a sense of humor to you know, get it,

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<v Speaker 1>and laughter in response to stimulation like tickling. Some animals,

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<v Speaker 1>such as primates, seem to have a sense of humor,

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<v Speaker 1>meaning they can respond to situations with a pant that

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<v Speaker 1>sounds eerily similar to laughter. You can read numerous stories

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<v Speaker 1>about Coco the gorilla allegedly making jokes in sign language

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<v Speaker 1>and so on. Additionally, when adult animals like dolphins or

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<v Speaker 1>ravens play pranks, they're indicating an understanding of humor. But

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<v Speaker 1>laughter itself seems more common than humans had originally thought.

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<v Speaker 1>Rats have been laughing their furry little keysters off since

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<v Speaker 1>the dawn of recorded history, but we only figured this

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<v Speaker 1>out a few years back. It turns out rats like

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<v Speaker 1>being tickled and when they're tickled, they chirp at a

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<v Speaker 1>range too high for human ears to pick up. It's

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<v Speaker 1>around fifty kila herds. We know this thanks to the

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<v Speaker 1>work of Jacques Panskep and Jeffrey Bergdorff beginning in the

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<v Speaker 1>late nineties at Bowling Green State University. And if we're

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<v Speaker 1>talking about that second category of laughter, a positive vocalization

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<v Speaker 1>associated with touch, then the comedy floodgates may have just

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<v Speaker 1>swung open. Dr de Villa Ross has been gathering as

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<v Speaker 1>much data as possible about the reactions various animals have

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<v Speaker 1>to being tickled. The list of animals that make a

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<v Speaker 1>vocal reaction when tickled include mere cats, camels, dolphins, dogs, owls, penguins,

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<v Speaker 1>and more So. What's the explanation, Well, according to Michael O. Wren,

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<v Speaker 1>an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience from Georgia State

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<v Speaker 1>University that's my alma mater, the case may be simple,

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<v Speaker 1>at least when applied to mammals. It's just a pleasant

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<v Speaker 1>feeling evoked by touching. Laughter it seems may well be

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<v Speaker 1>millions of years old and existed before human beings. If

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<v Speaker 1>you think about it, we're sort of late to the joke,

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<v Speaker 1>and to be fair, most scientists aren't calling this straight

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<v Speaker 1>out laughter. Instead, they're suggesting that these positive vocalizations, or

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<v Speaker 1>as Dr de Villa Ross writes, expressions of joy. And

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<v Speaker 1>when we ask whether laughter is a sign of intelligence,

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<v Speaker 1>Dr pank Stp notes that intelligence isn't a requirement for laughter. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>he suggests maybe we should look at it from another direction.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps play in any species can increase social intelligence. As

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<v Speaker 1>research continues, we're learning more and more about animals, laughter,

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<v Speaker 1>and pep. Check out the brainstuff channel on YouTube, and

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<v Speaker 1>for more on this and thousands of other topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com