No Joke: Animals Laugh, Too, page 1

No Joke: Animals Laugh, Too, page

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Topic started on 1-4-2005 @ 02:44 PM by they see ALL

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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!!!

reply posted on 1-4-2005 @ 02:57 PM 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.

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 06:08 PM by MrPink

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

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 06:09 PM by mwen

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

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 06:23 PM by cownosecat

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.

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 06:38 PM by WyrdeOne

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]

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 08:12 PM by Lenina

"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!

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 08:18 PM by marg6043

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.

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 10:02 PM by AlwaysLearning

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!

reply posted on 2-4-2005 @ 10:31 PM by lmgnyc

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...

reply posted on 3-4-2005 @ 12:26 AM by Croat56

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.

reply posted on 4-4-2005 @ 11:59 AM by saint4God

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