ANIMALS LAUGHTER

BY ITALIA PEREZ

Laughter in animals other than humans describes animal behavior which resembles human laughter.

ARISTOTLE THOUGH THAT…

THE TICKLE RAT EXPERIMENT

Then we go to Bowling Green State University in Ohio, to tickle rats with psychobiologist Dr. Jaak Panksepp.

NON-HUMAN PRIMATES LAUGHTER

Chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos and orangutans show laughter-like vocalizations

in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, play chasing, or tickling.

This is documented in wild and captive chimpanzees. Chimpanzee laughter is not readily recognizable to humans as such, because it is generated by alternating

inhalations and exhalations that sound more like breathing and panting. It sounds similar

to screeching.

DOGS LAUGHTER

A dog laugh sounds similar to a normal pant. By analyzing the

pant using a sonograph, this pant varies with bursts of frequencies,

resulting in a laugh. When this recorded dog-laugh vocalization is

played to dogs in a shelter setting, it can initiate play,

promote pro-social behavior, and decrease stress levels.

HYENASIf you happen to get close to a pack of

hyenas dining on a freshly killed carcass, you'll probably hear peals of laughter.

But those aren't signs of happiness. Most of the time, a spotted hyena's laugh is in

response to agitation or attack.Just like humans may laugh on a roller

coaster ride to express fear and excitement, so the eager spotted hyena

lets out a mating-time chuckle.