From Apes To Birds, There Are 65 Animal Species That 'Laugh' (arstechnica.com) 34
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Among humans, laughter can signify a lot of different things, from intimacy to discomfort. Among animals, however, laughter usually communicates something along the lines of "this is playtime -- I'm not actually going for your throat." According to new research from the University of California, Los Angeles, there are likely at least 65 different creatures, including humans, that make these vocalizations. They're most commonly found in primates, but they have also been noted in distant relatives like birds. It's not clear whether this is because laughter has arisen several times over the course of evolution or if it's more widespread and we just haven't noticed.
The list of "laughing" animals is mostly made up of primates, but there are a few other mammals on the list, such as the degu -- whose laugh is described as purring or grumbling -- and the killer whale. There are even three birds on the list, such as the kea parrot, which uses play vocalizations discovered in 2017. According to [Sasha Winkler, a PhD student in UCLA's anthropology department], there have been other surveys of the primates who laugh, but little work has been done outside that group. "To my knowledge, no one has gone through and tried to see a comprehensive look of all the vocalizations during play across all mammals, and we even found some birds," she said. Winkler told Ars that understanding animal laughter could help us understand the origins of human laughter. Laughter in humans plays several other functions beyond play, such as indicating membership in a group. The findings appear in the journal Bioacoustics.
The list of "laughing" animals is mostly made up of primates, but there are a few other mammals on the list, such as the degu -- whose laugh is described as purring or grumbling -- and the killer whale. There are even three birds on the list, such as the kea parrot, which uses play vocalizations discovered in 2017. According to [Sasha Winkler, a PhD student in UCLA's anthropology department], there have been other surveys of the primates who laugh, but little work has been done outside that group. "To my knowledge, no one has gone through and tried to see a comprehensive look of all the vocalizations during play across all mammals, and we even found some birds," she said. Winkler told Ars that understanding animal laughter could help us understand the origins of human laughter. Laughter in humans plays several other functions beyond play, such as indicating membership in a group. The findings appear in the journal Bioacoustics.
There are animals that talk. (Score:2)
Re: There are animals that talk. (Score:5, Funny)
And of those that talk how many can tell a joke good enough to make another species laugh?
Does this YouTube video make you laugh? (Score:2)
Parrots sometimes imitate humans:
Parrot Swears During Argument with Owner [youtube.com]
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Parrots it seems enjoy getting a response from humans. This is why sweary parrots are common and they pick up swear words so easily.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-... [bbc.co.uk]
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I saw a Crow vs Magpie war conducted for about 5 years on a roof near my house. It was over a seemingly pointless piece piece of roof real estate.
But even though they always lost, the Magpies would never pass up an opportunity to bait the hell out of the crows, and then laugh at them from a distance.
A rough translation would be "So you've won the battle 8 vs 3 with your massive, oversized comedy beaks, but we don't even care! Now you've
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When I had my farm, the song birds would mob hawks incessantly until they left. The songs even made species alliances to do so.
The big birds simply couldn't move fast enough.
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Watching smaller birds deal with larger ones is like watching WWII footage of fighter planes attacking bombers.
I thought I was the only person who thought that. It's exactly what it looks like.
When I had my farm, the song birds would mob hawks incessantly until they left. The songs even made species alliances to do so.
I'd love to have seen that.
The big birds simply couldn't move fast enough.
They could move faster in a straight line. But the smaller birds were much more agile and could change direction much quicker. It is funny to watch. With mockingbirds you can tell they are chasing a crow by the sound they make too.
Re: Does this YouTube video make you laugh? (Score:2)
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In terms of observational comedy, human behaviour will have them laughing so hard they don't need to crack their own jokes.
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You mean like those? [youtube.com]
The Smirking Chimp (Score:2)
Ha! (Score:1)
This article doesn't pass the laugh test.
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why post as anonymous coward?
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No it doesn't
Re: There Are 65 Animal Species That 'Laugh'... (Score:2, Troll)
SNL stopped being funny in the 1980s.
It's been unwatchable since the turn of the century.
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Maybe your sense of humor simply atrophied from lack of use.
SNL had a bad lull but they have come back quite confidently.
There were ALWAYS bad SNL skits, we simply don't remember them. There are still bad skits, but there are now great ones again.
my heinlein quote (Score:4, Funny)
I guess AFTER TWENTY YEARS /my sig could use an update?
The funniest animal (Score:3)
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Re: This is why comedy never changes anything. (Score:2)
"distant relatives like birds" (Score:3)
Is "Sun Conure" on the list? (Score:5, Funny)
I used to have a Sun Conure that someone else decided to get rid of after 10 years because they found caring for it inconvenient. Yes, that is shitty.
Anyway, she liked to bathe by dunking herself in a water glass. And this used to make her sneeze.
One time I laughed because she sneezed and then she flapped her wings and shook the water in my face, and I breathed some in, and sneezed. And she said "HA HA HA HA HA"
I suspect that far more animals have a functional sense of humor than most people appreciate.
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I'm pretty sure ducks have a sense of humour. Wild ducks have far more personality than people give them credit for. I'm not the only person who thinks this: http://bash.org/?334762 [bash.org]
Also monkey-boys (Score:1)
Laugh while you can.
Fish Yawn (Score:1)