Play is generally considered an immature affair. However, adult play is present in several
mammal species living in complex social systems. Here, I hypothesize that adult social play …

There has been a recent resurgence of interest in the study of play behavior, marked by
much empirical research and theoretical review. These efforts suggest that play may be of …

What role does playful behaviour and playful thought take in animal and human
development? How does play relate to creativity and, in turn, to innovation? Unravelling the …

The developmental costs and benefits of early locomotor play are a puzzling topic in biology,
psychology, and health sciences. Evolutionary theory predicts that energy-intensive …

It is widely believed that juvenile male mammals typically engage in higher rates of rough
and tumble play (RTP) than do females, in preparation for adult roles involving intense …

Although husbandry conditions for horses have improved over the last decades, many
horses are still kept singly with limited or no physical contact to other horses. This is …

Simple Summary Vital for informing debates about the ways we interact with wild animals
and their associated habitats is knowledge of their welfare status. To date, scientific …

Social behavior is a key component of pig welfare on farms, but little is known on the
development of social behaviors in piglets. This study aimed to explore social behaviors and …

Adaptive functions of play can vary across species, and also within species, reflecting
behavioral ecology and evolutionary history. We evaluated juvenile play in Belding's ground …

Play has been defined as apparently functionless behaviour, yet since play is costly, models
of adaptive evolution predict that it should have some beneficial function (or functions) that …