It was late afternoon in the winter scrub desert within Namibia’s Etosha National Park when I spotted a family of elephants on the southern edge of the clearing. I was scanning the horizon from the observation tower where my colleagues and I conduct our research at Mushara water hole.
I have witnessed the important role of play in calf development and family politics by watching members of my favorite elephant groups frolic at this water hole at sunset. These often chaotic observations inspired me to want to understand more about how animals play and what advantages this behavior might confer, not just to elephants but to all social creatures, including humans. It turns out that play, like other forms of interaction, has rules of engagement.
When a young male elephant wants to play with another male of similar age, he holds his trunk up and presents it to the other as an invitation. Most often his next move would be to place his trunk over the other’s head, which in adults signals dominance but in calves is guaranteed to precipitate a spirited sparring match. These encounters run the gamut from gentle shoving to intense headbutting and pushing back and forth with trunks entwining and tusks clacking.
Many species, including our own, engage in the mock-fighting variety of locomotive play, which allows them to test their strength in a safe environment where everyone understands the rules. A playful spar in elephants is just like an arm wrestle between human peers.
Once a cub has been tackled by its littermates, roles might reverse such that a littermate handicaps itself, allowing the other cub to tackle it in return. Self-handicapping is risky and requires trust, but it is a great way to develop strength and agility. It is also an important exercise in building cooperation.
That day the incoming family turned out to be the Actors. It was our first sighting of the group that season, and we were excited to see a new addition to the family: high-ranking Susan, identified by her daggerlike left tusk, had a new male calf, Liam. And low-ranking Wynona, who was missing her left tusk, had her two-year-old calf Lucy in tow.
Lucy changed all that. From the start, she was quite the extrovert. Maybe being born into a very small family made her all the more curious and excited by the opportunity to engage with the extended family on the infrequent occasion of their overlapping. And she was not deterred by the admonishments of high-ranking moms within the extended family, much to the seeming annoyance of the ever watchful Susan.
Play is serious buisness for humans and many, many other animals also. I think that alot of animals are much more intelligent than people give them credit for. It is slowly being found out just how special and smart many animals are.
Humans do too. when I was a kid we played war, store and house. Practiced running, jumping, climbing trees and hiding. All survival skills.
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