Young mammals are often playful, as anyone who has interacted with a kitten or puppy knows. This is no coincidence, as play teaches them skills needed later in life, such as hunting or intra-species confrontations for defending territories or during mating season.
A recent study analyzed the behavior of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins in Western Australia. Observations were available from as early as 1982, making it possible to compare the events of their adult lives with their childhood.
Researchers found that young male dolphins engaged in play resembling adult reproductive behavior, such as forming alliances with other males to herd females and producing specific vocalizations in the presence of the opposite sex.
Paternity data from eleven male dolphins, on the other hand, showed that their later reproductive success was quite well predicted by the time they spent as young dolphins participating in social play that resembled adult male sexual behavior. In other words, they demonstrated the benefits of play in the development of sexual behavior in wild animal populations.
I decided to publish this text on the morning of Midsummer Day, as I assumed some of my esteemed readers might have participated in Midsummer's traditional rituals, which are believed to have magical effects on one's romantic life. Not because I think they somehow correspond to the adult-mimicking play of young dolphins, but because both are related to the most important task in an individual's life for the survival of the species: reproduction.
And perhaps something has happened on this Midsummer night that will be reflected in national statistics nine months from now?
Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The amazing adventures of the German cockroach
World oceans are filled with previously unknown viruses
Seeing sex developed novel cultures
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