Which animal laughs

Winkler witnessed firsthand that vocalizations often accompany animals playing during past work with rhesus macaques, which pant while they play, according to Live Science. To find out how widespread such play vocalizations might be in the animal kingdom, Winkler and Bryant scoured the scientific literature for descriptions of play activity in various animals. In particular, the study authors looked for mentions of vocalizations accompanying playtime.

Per Ars Technica , many of the animal laughs identified by the study sound nothing like a human chuckle. Back in , another study found that playing a recording of kea laughter around the parrots in the wild would cause the birds to spontaneously break into playful tussles. Another key difference between human and animal laughter could be its volume and thus its intended audience, according to Live Science. Though most of the laughing animals were mammals, two bird species — the Australian magpie Gymnorhina tibicen and the kea parrot Nestor notabilis — also vocalized during play, the researchers reported.

In a study of kea parrots, which live in New Zealand, scientists found that if they recorded keas' warbling laughter and played it through a speaker, other keas "would spontaneously start playing," Winkler said.

That study demonstrated how kea laughter acts as an invitation to other keas, "specifically to facilitate and to initiate play," Winkler said. Reports of playful laughter were notably absent in studies describing fish, amphibians and reptiles, perhaps because there is some question as to whether or not play exists at all in those animal groups, according to the study. Laughter in humans is thought to have originated during play, a hypothesis supported by the play-related panting laughter of many primate species.

Human laughter may have evolved from a similar panting sound that, "over evolutionary time became ritualized into the vocalized 'ha ha ha' that we use today," Winkler said. People still laugh during play, but we also incorporate laughter into language and non-play behaviors, using laughter in diverse ways to convey a range of emotions that may be positive or negative, the researchers reported. Human laughter notably differs from other animals' laughter in another important way: its volume.

People broadcast their laughter loudly, often as a way of establishing inclusion in a group. By comparison, when most animals laugh, the sound is very quiet — just loud enough to be heard by the laugher's partner, according to the study.

Mindy Weisberger is a Live Science senior writer covering a general beat that includes climate change, paleontology, weird animal behavior, and space. Mindy holds an M. When tickled in places like the armpit, neck, or feet, these apes break out into fits of shallow panting that is believed to be their form of laughter. Socialization and play are very important for these animals, especially bonobos, and laughter may help them discover their personal boundaries.

Rats often get a bad reputation as pests, but science owes a lot to these little guys. They have been used in all sorts of experiments, including ones attempting to discover the origins of human laughter. Studies indicate rats may emit a sort of primitive laughter when engaging in social play or being tickled.

These ultrasonic vocalizations are inaudible to human ears, but the rats get the message loud and clear. The researchers involved in the study believe the behavior is so similar to human laughter that the two likely result from the same mechanisms in the brain. This suggests that laughter has been around since the earliest days of mammals. Like all apes, gorillas appear to be ticklish.

They have been observed emitting laugh-like panting when engaging in play, but one gorilla in particular is of incredible note. Koko the gorilla has made headlines for her ability to communicate via sign language, although many skeptical scientists question how much she truly comprehends. Some anecdotes suggest Koko is able to crack jokes, often to the frustration of her handlers. An experiment designed to test her ability to mimic movements failed when Koko began intentionally screwing up the moves.

When the researcher would touch his nose, Koko would find amusement in pointing to completely different body parts. Her handler allegedly got frustrated and signed "bad gorilla"; Koko's responded by signing " funny gorilla. Canines are very playful animals, and they employ a variety of sounds to indicate that they're ready to have some fun.

One of these sounds may even be a form of laughter. Scientists ran a study in which certain sounds were played for a dog, including barks, growls, and panting, and the dog's reactions were recorded. They discovered that dogs have their own version of laughter, a breathy exhale signifying the beginning of playtime. When the sound is played for a dog, it immediately attempts to instigate play with the source of the sound, whether the source is another dog or a human with a tape recorder.

Just playing the sound can cause an immediate decrease in stress levels, a tactic that could potentially be used in high-stress environments like animal shelters. All of the great apes apparently laugh when tickled, and orangutans are no exception.

Orangutans are humans' most distant ape relatives, and their panting laughter is thought to be the most primitive. But orangutans are far from simple, as they apparently enjoy messing with humans.