Kingdom of Play

March 4, 2024
What purpose does play serve animals? Toomey (Weird Life), an English professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, attempts to answer that question in this disappointing study. Noting that “there is no universally accepted theory of play,” Toomey evaluates the evidence for various hypotheses, one of which holds that play allows young animals to practice behaviors that will be evolutionarily advantageous as adults. As Toomey points out, however, a study of meerkats found that those that play-fought more as pups were no more likely to win real fights as adults. Another possibility is that play constitutes “training for the unexpected,” Toomey writes, explaining that researchers have observed langur monkeys “deliberately compromising their vision and balance” by shaking their heads during play, which might be practice for recovering their balance when they face a real threat. There are plenty of amusing anecdotes, as when Toomey describes an aquarium turtle that would “ride” the nurse shark that shared its tank by gently biting its tail and hanging on as it swam away. Unfortunately, the author’s discussion of the potential neuroscientific and genetic underpinnings of play feels rushed and insubstantial, and the scant number of recent studies cited raises questions about whether the science is up to date. This comes up short. Photos. Agent: Allison Devereux, Cheney Agency.