Whether tussling with a young chimpanzee or playing chase with another adult, the frequency of adult play was strongly correlated with the amount of ripe fruit in the diet in any given month. When the forest was full of high-quality food, adult chimpanzees played a lot.
But when their prized fruits dwindled, their playful sides all but disappeared – that is, except for mothers.
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When food is scarce, parties tend to be smaller, and mothers are often alone with just their young. This strategy reduces feeding competition with group mates. But it also leaves mothers as the only social partners for their offspring. Mothers’ time and energy that might be devoted toward other daily tasks, such as feeding and rest, go toward play instead.
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Whether maternal play is a product of fission-fusion grouping or the developmental needs of offspring still needs to be tested directly. But the responsibility to play with your little ones certainly resonates with many human parents who experienced a sudden shift to become their children’s main play partners when COVID-19 interrupted normal activities.
Some food for thought: We're learning more and more about play behavior in other animals. It's not all too surprising that animals tend to play more when food is abundant, but I wonder what the...
Some food for thought:
We're learning more and more about play behavior in other animals. It's not all too surprising that animals tend to play more when food is abundant, but I wonder what the benefit of it is. Stress relief? Social bonding? Across the board cognitive enrichment?
Regarding how mothers maintain a high level of play with their offspring even when food is scarce - is this solely facilitated by demands to play from her offspring? I wonder if perhaps she gets some immediate benefits as well beyond ensuring proper development. For instance, we know that oxytocin is associated with many prosocial behaviors and we think it might relate to good feelings that arise from those. Seems like it can further solidify the parent-offspring bond and perhaps provides some neural benefits to the mother beyond that.
Some key points:
Some food for thought:
We're learning more and more about play behavior in other animals. It's not all too surprising that animals tend to play more when food is abundant, but I wonder what the benefit of it is. Stress relief? Social bonding? Across the board cognitive enrichment?
Regarding how mothers maintain a high level of play with their offspring even when food is scarce - is this solely facilitated by demands to play from her offspring? I wonder if perhaps she gets some immediate benefits as well beyond ensuring proper development. For instance, we know that oxytocin is associated with many prosocial behaviors and we think it might relate to good feelings that arise from those. Seems like it can further solidify the parent-offspring bond and perhaps provides some neural benefits to the mother beyond that.