Giggles and 'joy jumps': rats love games of hide and squeak, scientists find

[Judi Lynn]

Rodents enjoyed being found by humans and would hide again to keep the game going

Agence France-Presse

Fri 13 Sep 2019 00.01 EDT

The next time you see a rat darting for cover, consider this: it might just want to have a playful game of hide-and-seek.

A group of neuroscientists in Germany spent several weeks hanging out with rodents in a small room filled with boxes, and found the animals were surprisingly adept at the childhood game – even without being given food as a reward.

They recorded joyful leaps and ultrasonic giggles – which previous work has shown to be signs of happiness – when the rats found the humans or were caught by them.

The researchers’ paper was published in the journal Science on Thursday, and offers new insight into play behaviour, an important evolutionary trait among mammals.

“When you work a lot with rats over the years, you see how intelligent these animals are, and how social,” said co-author Konstantin Hartmann from the Humboldt University of Berlin.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/13/giggles-and-joy-jumps-rats-love-games-of-hide-and-squeak-scientists-find

[Rhiannon12866]

1. K&R! Rats really are very smart and can make good pets

I had a hooded rat - named Barnaby:

[BunnyMcGee]

2. Wonderful

A wonderful thing to read about. Animals are sometimes more 'human' than humans. Recently I saw a video on the Dodo site about a man who has dived among sharks, and especially a tiger shank, for about 20 years. This shark liked to be petted on the snout or head area, and seemed to recognize the man. The man had even removed fish hooks from the shark's mouth.

[nuxvomica]

3. I think playfulness is the strongest indicator of intelligence

It's tied to both learning and socialization.

[pansypoo53219]

4. sharks have tiny brains. but obviously like some gators, they can rise above average.

[Stryst]

5. I keep pet rats.

They love hand wrestle and hide and seek. Those popping jumps with the squeeks are usually called popcorning.

I'm actually writing this comment as I'm sitting next to our quarantine cage, because I just picked up a pair of young hoodeds from a breeder.