Can animals laugh?

Question

I heard that only humans have the ability to laugh? Is that true?

Answer 1

Yes many of them do. It is just not a noise that humans would think of as laughter.

Gorillas for example LOVE to laugh when they play and tickle one another. The best way to think of there laugh is when a human laughs so hard that the noise stops and it turns into almost a panting noise. It is too cute really.

Plus you have to remember to that many of the noises animals make is out of the range of human hearing. Elephants for example are almost always talking back and forth between one another and other herds, but the pitch is out of our range of hearing.

Anyway, yes animals do laugh. Perhaps not all of them, but there are many who do.

Answer 2

all of the above answers are either specious, wrong or besides the point. The laughter you are referring to is NOT about tickling, which is simply a physical response to something, it's the response we have to a situation which is psychological in nature. It could be an intentional joke, it could be something that happens to someone.

Laughter is a special function that allows HUMAN BEINGS ONLY to slough off conflicting, unresolved impressions. These impressions fall on the negative and positive parts of centers at the same time. How can something be one thing and it's opposite simultaneously? A person tries acting important and something happens that makes him look like a buffoon.

I'm only referring to genuine laughter. Phony laughter is of no consequence whatsoever.

Answer 3

I don't know if I'd describe it as laughing, but I've seen ferrets at play, and the sound they make comes close to a giggle at least.

Answer 4

I'm sure they can. I have a dog that smiles when I tickle him he loves it. I know that dog is laughing at me when he steals my shorts when I am laying out in the sun or when he steals my flowers. He loves to play and I know it is fun for him!

Answer 5

LOL I imagine a dog laughing,

Answer 6

Non-human primates
kalekuttens, 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. The differences between chimpanzee and human laughter may be the result of adaptations that have evolved to enable human speech. There are instances in which non-human primates have been reported to have expressed joy. One study analyzed and recorded sounds made by human babies and bonobos (also known as pygmy chimpanzees) when tickled. It found that although the bonobo’s laugh was a higher frequency, the laugh followed the same spectrographic pattern of human babies to include as similar facial expressions. Humans and chimpanzees share similar ticklish areas of the body such as the armpits and belly. The enjoyment of tickling in chimpanzees does not diminish with age. Discovery 2003A chimpanzee laughter sample. Goodall 1968 & Parr 2005


Brown Rat
[edit] Rats
It has been discovered that rats emit short, high frequency, ultrasonic, socially induced vocalization during rough and tumble play, and when tickled. The vocalization is described a distinct “chirping”. Humans cannot hear the "chirping" without special equipment. It was also discovered that like humans, rats have "tickle skin". These are certain areas of the body that generate more laughter response than others. The laughter is associated with positive emotional feelings and social bonding occurs with the human tickler, resulting in the rats becoming conditioned to seek the tickling. Additional responses to the tickling were those that laughed the most also played the most, and those that laughed the most preferred to spend more time with other laughing rats. This suggests a social preference to other rats exhibiting similar responses. However, as the rats age, there does appear to be a decline in the tendency to laugh and respond to tickle skin. The initial goal of Jaak Panksepp and Jeff Burgdorf’s research was to track the biological origins of joyful and social processes of the brain by comparing rats and their relationship to the joy and laughter commonly experienced by children in social play. Although, the research was unable to prove rats have a sense of humour, it did indicate that they can laugh and express joy. Panksepp & Burgdorf 2003 Chirping by rats is also reported in additional studies by Brain Knutson of the National Institutes of Health. Rats chirp when wrestling one another, before receiving morphine, or when mating. The sound has been interpreted as an expectation of something rewarding. Science News 2001


[edit] Dogs
The dog laugh sounds similar to a normal pant. But 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. In a study by Simonet, Versteeg, and Storie, 120 subject dogs in a mid-size county animal shelter were observed. Dogs ranging from 4 months to 10 years of age were compared with and without exposure to a dog-laugh recording. The stress behaviors measured included panting, growling, salivating, pacing, barking, cowering, lunging, play-bows, sitting, orienting and lying down. The study resulted in positive findings when exposed to the dog laughing: significantly reduced stress behaviors, increased tail wagging and the display of a play-face when playing was initiated, and the increase of pro-social behavior such as approaching and lip licking were more frequent. This research suggests exposure to dog-laugh vocalizations can calm the dogs and possibly increase shelter adoptions. Simonet, Versteeg, & Storie 2005 A dog laughter sample. Simonet 2005

Answer 7

all i know that when my dog (charlie) nozed me in the Huevos, i could swear i heard him chuckle

and if animals can't laugh, explain hyena's...

Answer 8

they don't laugh because they don't have the endorphins that a human have.

Answer 9

chimps can laugh.

Answer 10

I don't think they can, but I think a Hyena can.