1 We know animals can feel fear.

They
may also feel love since they have strong
relationships with each other. So are
animal emotions similar to our own?
5 And do animals have a sense of humor?
A Parrot Named Bongo
Sally Blanchard’s parrot Bongo Marie
didn’t get along with her other parrot,
Paco. In fact, it was obvious that Bongo
10 Marie didn’t like Paco at all! One day,
Blanchard cooked a chicken for dinner.
She started to cut the
chicken with a knife. “Oh!
Paco!” said Bongo Marie
15 loudly. Blanchard laughed
and said, “That’s not
Paco.” “Oh . . . no,” said
Bongo Marie. This time,
she sounded disappointed.
20 Then the parrot laughed
at her own joke.1
Yoga Dog
Jean Donaldson enjoys doing
yoga—and so does her dog
25 Buffy. While Jean sits in her yoga
positions, Buffy carefully places
her toys2 on Donaldson’s body.
If a toy falls, Buffy runs to put it
back on. Does this behavior have
30 any real function? According to
Donaldson, “She thinks it’s hilarious!”3
 joke is something that
A
Animal Laughter
1

makes you laugh.

2
Toys are objects which
Can dogs “laugh”? Recent research shows that dogs tell each people (usually children) or
animals play with.
other when they want to play. In that situation, they make a special 3
If something is hilarious, it is
35 sound—a kind of “laugh.” Psychologist Patricia Simonet recorded the 4
very funny.
Your response to something
sound. Then she played it back to dogs to assess their response.4 “All is your reply or reaction to it.
A clue to a problem or puzzle
the dogs responded positively to the laugh,” says Simonet.
5

is something that helps you

find the answer.
So do animals have a sense of humor? If laughter is a clue,5
then perhaps the answer is “yes!”
8B Animal Emotions 93