Play as Interspecies Communication (Pets)

Play takes many forms in people throughout their lifes-pan. Animals also have many diverse ways of playing, and these also change throughout their lives. The play of humans and animals intersects in many ways. Interactive social play of humans with other species is a long-recognized phenomenon and one that both adults and children view as a major benefit of companion animals. Play also occurs between other species of animals and is well documented, but it has not been the focus of detailed study as compared with human-animal play. Only recently has it been possible to have a set of criteria available that allows recognition of play behavior in animals far different from those that have typically been considered playful, such as domesticated species (e.g., dogs, cats, and horses) and other such notable players and tricksters as monkeys, apes, elephants, dolphins, [Page 512]seals, otters, crows, and parrots. Play may also be found in some lizards, turtles, fish, and even the octopus.

Play in animals has generally been categorized as locomotor, object, and social play. While interspecific play would most certainly involve the last, the other categories are also often involved. Thus, dogs may run after each other in games of Tug of War with a stick or piece of rope. Similarly, much play between humans and other species involves objects and locomotion as much or more so than the wrestling, play fighting, and pseudo-courtship so common in much animal social play. Tug-of-War games with humans have even been noted in Komodo dragon lizards and giant Nile soft-shelled turtles. Human social play with many species is thus possible and takes many forms.

Animals may play with members of other species, and there are published reports of play in the wild, including between wolves or dogs and bears, different species of hyrax living in the same area, and among different species of nonhuman primates. In the often abnormal captive environments where animals are raised by, or housed with, alien species, such interspecific play is very common. Here I focus on some examples of human playful interactions with other species.