Animal Play: Evolutionary, Comparative and Ecological Perspectives

Why do animals play? Play has been described in animals as diverse as reptiles, birds and mammals, so what benefits does it provide and how did it evolve? Careful, quantitative studies of social, locomotor and object play behavior are now beginning to answer these questions and shed light on many other aspects of both animal and human behavior. This unique interdisciplinary volume brings together the major findings about play in a wide range of species including humans. Topics about play in...