Play behaviour in nonhuman animals and the animal welfare issue
The mission of defining animal welfare indicators is methodologically difficult, limited, and possibly impossible. A promising alternative, however, to evaluate suitable environmental conditions is the assessment of play behaviour. In the present review, we summarise the general aspects of play behaviour in nonhuman animals and propose its use as a potential indicator of animal welfare. […]
Abstraction, cruelty and other aspects of animal play (exemplified by the playfulness of Muki and Maluca)
Play behaviour is notorious for constituting a much debated, yet little clarified field of research. In this article, attempts are made to reach conclusions on the relation between human play and the play of other animals (especially cat play), as well as on the very character of play. The concept of Umwelt is reviewed, as […]
Equid play ethogram
An ethogram of play behavior among equids was developed. Several key English-language studies on equids were reviewed to derive a preliminary inventory of specific behaviors to be included in the ethogram. Our primary observations were based on a herd of semi-feral Shetland-type ponies kept at New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, […]
Adaptation of blind brown bears to a new environment and its residents: stereotypy and play as indicators
Fourteen European brown bears (Ursus arctos) were confiscated in Turkey in October 1993. Three bears-1 female and 2 males-were blind and showed mainly stereotypies and behavior toward others that was passive, aggressive, or both. These blind bears were transported to the Zoo in the Netherlands and placed in an enclosure with 8 resident wolves and […]
Revisiting Play Elements and Self-Handicapping in Play: A Comparative Ethogram of Five Old World Monkey Species
Play behavior has been viewed as a mixture of elements drawn from “serious” behavior, interspersed by ritualized play signals. Two other types of play behaviors have been overlooked: patterns that are dissimilar from any serious behavior and patterns with self-handicapping character, that is, those that put the animal into unnecessary disadvantageous positions or situations. Here […]
When do octopuses play? Effects of repeated testing, object type, age, and food deprivation on object play in Octopus vulgaris
Studying play behavior in octopuses is an important step toward understanding the phylogenetic origins and function of play as well as the cognitive abilities of invertebrates. Fourteen Octopus vulgaris (7 subadults and 7 adults) were presented 2 Lego objects and 2 different food items on 7 consecutive days under 2 different levels of food deprivation. […]
Keeping Circus Elephants Temporarily in Paddocks – The Effects on Their Behaviour
The purpose of this study was to investigate the behavioural effects of keeping circus elephants in paddocks. Therefore some species-typical behavioural characters and the occurrence of stereotyped movements were observed and compared in unshackled paddock keeping versus shackled keeping. The investigation includes 29 elephants (19 Elephas maximus, 10 Loxodonta africana) at four circuses located in […]
Juvenile farmed mink (Mustela vison) with additional access to swimming water play more frequently than animals housed with a cylinder and platform, but without swimming water
The opportunity to perform play behaviour may be an important ontogenic activity that stimulates behavioural variability and may enhance an individual’s coping capacity later in life. Play behaviour in juveniles may be enhanced by the presence of cage enrichments relevant to the animal’s motivations and natural behavioural repertoire. The present study aimed to investigate play […]
Indicators of positive and negative emotions and emotional contagion in pigs
Abstract For the welfare of group-housed animals, such as pigs, the emotional state of an individual pig is relevant, but also the extent to which pen mates are affected by the distress or pleasure of other individuals, i.e. emotional contagion, a simple form of empathy. Therefore, indicators of positive and negative emotions were investigated in […]
Play behavior as an indicator of animal welfare: Disbudding in dairy calves
Play behavior may be reduced during negative experiences (e.g. pain) and serve as an indicator of animal welfare. To test this, the effects of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and a local anesthetic (LA) on dairy calf play behavior and wound sensitivity of calves after hot-iron disbudding (DB) were examined. Forty-six calves were assigned to […]