People sometimes do silly things, both intentionally and unintentionally. But so doanimals. Since they can’t capture those moments themselves, luckily, there’s us. When it comes to pets, peopletend to photographthem even more than their kids and even their partners.But this list is not aboutpetsonly; we’re honoring animals of all kinds. This is a collection of the best pics of all time where animals are living their best life from the InstagrampageThe Snuggle Is Real. And thank God someone was around to capture these moments, because now we can enjoy their silly antics through the screen.This post may includeaffiliate links.
People sometimes do silly things, both intentionally and unintentionally. But so doanimals. Since they can’t capture those moments themselves, luckily, there’s us. When it comes to pets, peopletend to photographthem even more than their kids and even their partners.
But this list is not aboutpetsonly; we’re honoring animals of all kinds. This is a collection of the best pics of all time where animals are living their best life from the InstagrampageThe Snuggle Is Real. And thank God someone was around to capture these moments, because now we can enjoy their silly antics through the screen.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
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We delight and laugh at animals at doing funny things, but do they sometimes do them to make others laugh on purpose? Our closest relatives great apes, including orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas, love practical jokes.Researchers saythat this is proof that animals too have a sense of humor.This isn’t the first timescientists have suggestedthis. Charles Darwin, in his bookThe Descent of Man, wrote about dogs and their sense of humor. He proposed that we could interpret their playful teasing while playing fetch as them playing a practical joke on their owners. There is alsoresearchsuggesting dogs engage in teasing behavior among themselves just like the great apes do.
We delight and laugh at animals at doing funny things, but do they sometimes do them to make others laugh on purpose? Our closest relatives great apes, including orangutans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas, love practical jokes.Researchers saythat this is proof that animals too have a sense of humor.
This isn’t the first timescientists have suggestedthis. Charles Darwin, in his bookThe Descent of Man, wrote about dogs and their sense of humor. He proposed that we could interpret their playful teasing while playing fetch as them playing a practical joke on their owners. There is alsoresearchsuggesting dogs engage in teasing behavior among themselves just like the great apes do.
Equestrian Lynn Actonwritesthat horses definitely have a sense of humor. Although horses aren’t generally big on disobedience, sometimes they break the rules if they see that it makes us laugh. They understand our emotional reactions, and, if they’re encouraged, they might engage insillybehavior more often.“The question has been raised as to whether these behaviors are truehumor, that is, actions intended to amuse us? Or are they learned because they received positive responses in the past? I think a repeated behavior could be either one, but a novel behavior intended to elicit laughter sounds like real humor to me,” Acton claims.
Equestrian Lynn Actonwritesthat horses definitely have a sense of humor. Although horses aren’t generally big on disobedience, sometimes they break the rules if they see that it makes us laugh. They understand our emotional reactions, and, if they’re encouraged, they might engage insillybehavior more often.
“The question has been raised as to whether these behaviors are truehumor, that is, actions intended to amuse us? Or are they learned because they received positive responses in the past? I think a repeated behavior could be either one, but a novel behavior intended to elicit laughter sounds like real humor to me,” Acton claims.
The reason why some researchers are skeptical aboutanimalshaving a sense of humor is that it serves no evolutionary purpose. For humans, it’s a bonding strategy. It’s how we break the ice, find friends, and connect with our loved ones.“We don’t know if it’s the same in apes or other animals, but it’s possible. To know for sure, we would need to test and observe more groups of primates and other species,” researcher Isabelle Laumertold The BBC.
The reason why some researchers are skeptical aboutanimalshaving a sense of humor is that it serves no evolutionary purpose. For humans, it’s a bonding strategy. It’s how we break the ice, find friends, and connect with our loved ones.
“We don’t know if it’s the same in apes or other animals, but it’s possible. To know for sure, we would need to test and observe more groups of primates and other species,” researcher Isabelle Laumertold The BBC.
Perhaps not all animals have a sense of humor, but many sure like to have fun. Rats, for example, really like it when we tickle them. In 2023,researchers foundthat when tickled, rats squeak joyfully in a high-pitched noise, similar to a giggling sound. And they come back to get the tickles again and again: the researchers can even make them play hide and seek to get the “tickling reward.”
The famous gorilla Koko, who knew over 1,000 American Sign Language signs and 2,000 spoken English words, demonstrated that she understood slapstick comedy.One time, she signed the word “chase” after tying her trainer’s shoelaces together, and made laughing noises when he tripped.
Rats aren’t the only ones who like tickling. Chimps, orangutans, and gorillasalso respondto tickling with gargalesis–that’s the scientific term of laughter tickle response. Great apes use “laughter” for similar reasons that humans do: as a means of social bonding and in light-hearted interactions between parents and children.
Interestingly, dogs have their own way of laughing, too. While theydon’t giggleor go “Ha-ha” like us, they “laugh” through their forceful panting. Behaviorists call this “play pant” and say that dogs use it when they’re inviting humans or other dogs to play. Apparently, it sounds something like “hhuh-hhuh.”
Researchers saythat some birds make sounds similar to laughter. The kea parrots in New Zealand would interpret the warbling laughter of another kea as an invitation to play. When the researchers would play the laughter through speakers, the keas “would spontaneously start playing.”
So far, scientists have proved that around 65 species of animalsengagein behaviors similar to laughter, and most do so during playful activities. Most of them are primates, but also include foxes, whales, and seals. Evencatsmade the list; the researchers classified their hissing as laughter.
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