SOME ANIMALS PLAY. SOME DON"T. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?

We've all seen otters cavorting on TV shows, diving and coming up from the water, seeming to have a great time. And even lions: the dad lying still somewhere on the savanna, obviously full of antelope or whoever, while his cubs wrestle in and on and around him. And birds of all varieties, from crows to hawks, soaring up on un-seen winds, gliding without even a flap, just enjoying the experience denied to us humans: flying.

Species at play, having a good time being themselves, right? No humans in sight. In other words, doing what they would be doing if we didn't exist.

But where does that sense of play start? Obviously, we humans have it: Lord, we'd be lost if not for all our sports. But is it a mammal thing? Do only furred animals -- coyotes, wolves -- that suckle their young know the meaning of "play"?

Let's take it down a notch. Reptiles. Snakes and turtles and frogs. Do they understand the concept of "play"? Of just having fun? Probably not. They're all about eating or being eaten.

What about fish in our aquarium? Those tetras and others who swim around, with no predators in sight. Are they enjoying themselves? Or are they just looking for those flakes of fish food we sprinkle on the surface of the tank whenever we think of it? They don't seem to be having fun, do they?

We know, from biology, that most species are concerned with reproducing, replicating their own, for whatever reason: just numbers, I guess, although I've never been comfortable with that. Why just keep churning out more and more of you who all look the same and who will do the same, ad infinitum? Why this urge to re-produce more and more of yourself?

I'll leave it to the scientists to figure out. It baffles me.

So where, on the evolutionary ladder, do creatures start to "have fun"? Where do they start to play?

We know monkeys play. We've seen them in zoos, flitting from branch to branch, hooting and seeming to have a good time. Back it up a bit. What about squirrels? They flit from branch to branch, too, but so far as I can tell, they're still pretty much looking for something to eat. I don't see them interacting with each other very often, just clowning around. From what I've seen of them on by backyard deck, they're just looking to feed themselves and not be attacked. Not much fun.

Who else? Well, of course domesticated dogs like to play: fetch the stick, get an ear rub or a belly rub, etc. They may be our best guage of where to draw the line. Dogs do seem to like to play.

What about domesticated cats? We'd like to think they play, but their play is often a subset of stalking a prey: they attack a ball of yarn like it was a downed bird. They don't often engage their young in play activities: instead they seem to be teaching them how to hunt. They do like our strokes, but cats are so selfish that it's all about them. Not sure what that's all about.

So what is the earliest, most primitive animal that we can say, with confidence, actually plays?

Well, dolphins seem to play. Like certain birds, they appear to enjoy just swimming in their environment, diving and surfacing, having a good time. And they even interact with us from time to time, letting us pet them in theme parks, which the birds don't do.

But I can't think of another animal in the ocean that plays. Sharks don't. Do whales? I'm not sure. They spend so much time way down deep that it's hard to map their activities.

So here's what I'm thinking: the first animals who know to play are our domesticated dogs.

There is no other species that we humans have made our own, so to speak. We can own ocelots or raccoons or chimpanzees, but, in the end, they are likely to revert to their natural instincts and turn against us, maybe even attack us. And sometimes even a dog species -- the pit bull being a prominent example -- will, from time to time, revert to its "animal" instincts and try to eat our faces (and maybe succeed in doing it). We have to be careful when we try to humanize animals, expecially those who may have been bred, by humans, to fight and attack.

Sometimes we're just hoping, against hope, that we can civilize what is a wild animal.

Back to the original question: What animals play?

Otters, dolphins, dogs, and sometimes cats. Lions and coyotes and wolves, but only among themselves. Those cute prairie dogs that stand up and look around, almost like us? Meerkats?Maybe. But no turtles or lizards or snakes. I'm not sure about rabbits. Do they play, or are they just always on the alert for trouble?

My daughter once had a hamster when she was a kid. One night she sat on it and killed it. It had crawled under a pillow or wherever. It was never a companion, believe me. Rodents aren't good pets. Would that one have played with another one? We never found out, but my guess is no. If we'd had another one, I'm guessing that they would be racing each other for the food dish. Not much friendly tussling. Just that old boring survival instinct. Ho hum.

What we humans want are animals that enjoy each other, that can be friends, that want to play.
And that want to play with us, their owners. And I'm afraid that leaves us with dogs and cats.
They are the only animals that are totally domesticated -- meaning they can live with us without fear of us and without being too difficult. And sometimes they even enjoy being with each other.
Dogs and cats can play, often together, if uneasily. They will not likely kill each other, just growl
occasionally or hiss but otherwise tolerate each other. They are animals we can live with. And they've learned to like us, or at least tolerate us. (I'm sorry, but I'm not one who thinks that your cat actually "likes" you. You give him or her food, and maybe you smell good, to the cat, but you could be replaced any time by someone who does the same. Give it whatever name you want -- Fluffy or Hemingway or whatever -- but your cat is only interested in the food.)

That still doesn't answer the question, though: at what point do animals know how to play?

I would say that it's mammalian, that no reptiles do it. Maybe some fish can. And some birds. But they're beyond our reach. We can't domesticate them, turn them to our purpose, own them.

Only dogs and cats have been smart enough to embrace and entertain us humans -- and so insure themselves a cushy life. Even the meanest of us loves a dog or a cat and lavishes all kinds of luxuries on it. Sometimes that beloved pet is the only one left who loves us, and we spend our last dollar keeping it fed. We may suffer, but we love to see our pet at play.

Dumb animals? Maybe not so dumb after all.

What animals play? Dogs for sure. Cats maybe. Dolphins probably. Birds? Who knows?

It's all part of the great mystery of life, and I say, play on!