Kingdom of Play

March 4, 2024
What purpose does play serve animals? Toomey (Weird Life), an English professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, attempts to answer that question in this disappointing study. Noting that “there is no universally accepted theory of play,” Toomey evaluates the evidence for various hypotheses, one of which holds that play allows young animals to practice behaviors that will be evolutionarily advantageous as adults. As Toomey points out, however, a study of meerkats found that those that play-fought more as pups were no more likely to win real fights as adults. Another possibility is that play constitutes “training for the unexpected,” Toomey writes, explaining that researchers have observed langur monkeys “deliberately compromising their vision and balance” by shaking their heads during play, which might be practice for recovering their balance when they face a real threat. There are plenty of amusing anecdotes, as when Toomey describes an aquarium turtle that would “ride” the nurse shark that shared its tank by gently biting its tail and hanging on as it swam away. Unfortunately, the author’s discussion of the potential neuroscientific and genetic underpinnings of play feels rushed and insubstantial, and the scant number of recent studies cited raises questions about whether the science is up to date. This comes up short. Photos. Agent: Allison Devereux, Cheney Agency.

March 1, 2024
Science writer Toomey (Weird Life, 2013) tackles a subject that, as he says, can ""inspire wonder, delight, and even awe,"" namely, how and why animals play. Even though play behavior has been extensively studied in humans, and despite the fact that we humans love to watch videos of animals at play, very few narrative books have been written on this intriguing topic. Toomey fills the gap, beginning this engaging journey into animal play by defining play and discussing various types of this universal activity. By portraying a disparate group of species, from octopuses to a piglet, wood thrushes to brown bears to meerkats, Toomey presents a carefully curated and clearly presented overview of years of research into playing animals, how they romp, and various theories about why they practice these lively actions. Ultimately, play behavior, like all other forms of culture, is best viewed through the lens of natural selection. Play is practiced generation after generation because it fills a role in the survival-of-the-fittest formula. Toomey takes a wonderful, ""this is so cool"" approach to chronicling just how playful diverse animals are and the benefits they accrue from this practice while explaining the science involved in watching animals play, making for a fun and absorbing read.

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March 1, 2024
An appraisal of how and why certain animals play and how it correlates to biology on Earth. Toomey, author of Weird Life and Stormchasers, turns his inquisitive eye to the curious ways animal species entertain themselves. He examines a series of animals from across the globe, each with unique playtime routines that are both fascinating and scientifically reflective of the natural habitats, cultures, and neurochemistry of the animal kingdom at large. Among the ethological research investigations Toomey explores is the anomaly of a young female octopus at the Seattle Aquarium thoroughly engaged with moving a small medicine bottle with her arms and water funnels; the "play fighting" of Kalahari meerkat pups; and the "chasing and wrestling" of Alaskan brown bears. The author postulates that the repetitive nature of these animals' activities signals pleasurable distraction, a desire for excitement, and a playful form of social bonding, but ethologists can only hypothesize on this theory. Other scientists Toomey cites--e.g., Gordon Burghardt, author of The Genesis of Animal Play--have sought a general definition of "nonfunctional" voluntary animal play that could be applied to species that exhibited these behaviors but also to those animals incorrectly assumed to be incapable of play. Elsewhere, Toomey spotlights studies scrutinizing the "curious porcine behavior" in Edinburgh, Scotland's experimental Pig Park; the oddity of belly-flopping juvenile male monkeys at a Calgary zoo; and the puzzling evolution of play fighting behaviors among rats, which, one neuroscientist observed, has little to do with fighting at all but rather enhances social competency, reduces stress, and defuses potential conflicts. The author includes sections on animal sleep cycles, which prove equally intriguing. Closing each chapter, Toomey intelligently analyzes how particular aspects of animal play behavior also characterize Darwin's theory of natural selection. A lively, informative, and scientifically entertaining animal behavior study.

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