Plot Synopsis

ANIMALS AT PLAY is a two-part special that uncovers the secrets behind the games of young animals. Across the planet, young animals spend huge amounts of time playing, but it's a behavior that has long been overlooked by science. Now, new research reveals that it isn't just for fun. Whether honing hunting skills, learning to collaborate in groups or slowing the ageing process, play is at the heart of almost everything an animal learns. Filmed on four continents and featuring experts and in-field scientists, this series uncovers the bizarre ways animals play, introduces some surprising animals fooling about, and discovers why play is so vital for an animal's development throughout its lifetime. ANIMALS AT PLAY made its U.S. linear TV debut on Smithsonian Channel on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at 8pm ET/PT. The two installments include:

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"The Power of Play"
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Across the natural world, young animals spend much of their time playing. From cats that love a game of chase to chimps that can solve puzzles, new research now reveals that play is at the heart of almost everything an animal learns. And some unexpected species are getting in on all the fun and games.

In the jungles of Thailand, clouded leopard cubs are chasing, climbing, jumping on each other and play fighting. And they play these same games over and over again. But why? It is all about the release of dopamine and endorphins -- the body's reward chemicals. They give the animals a feel-good factor, which makes these games highly addictive. And that repetition is vital. The more they play, the more they hone their skills and eventually these cubs will become formidable tree-based hunters.

But play isn't practiced by just a few species. Scientist are discovering that it is a lot more widespread than previously thought. Even some reptiles have an appetite for fun. The komodo dragon is the largest lizard on earth and a cold-blooded killer to boot. Professor Gordon Burghardt has been studying them in captivity for the last 20 years and has started to see their playful side. Using objects like paper bags and buckets, he has observed that they like playing with things on their heads and it led him to wonder what they might gain from doing this. He thinks it might replicate their feeding behavior -- burying their heads deep inside a carcass to get food. It is one of the first examples of play behavior ever recorded in a reptile.

Komodo dragons aren't the only unexpected animals that love playtime. From juggling otters to sledging crows, scientists are discovering that play is a serious pastime across the natural world and some animals are willing to risk their lives to do it.

In the forests of Thailand, Gibbons hurl themselves huge distances through the canopy. It is a daredevil method of locomotion called brachiating. But 15 meters up, one slip could prove fatal and it is something that the gibbons have to be prepared for. So, to really get to grips with their treetop world juveniles take an enormous risk. It is thought they allow themselves to fall by momentarily letting go of the branches. It is a risky tactic but one that teaches them how to react if they fall for real.

It isn't just how animals play that matters, it is what they play with that could prove critical to their survival in the wild. Young carnivores are among the most playful animals on the planet and science suggests there's a good reason for that. Their lives depend on their ability to hunt and they like to practice on objects. Marlice Van Vuuren has been looking after orphaned cheetahs for over 30 years and she uses object play to train them for their return to the wild. A game of ball is perfect for helping them learn how to chase down objects that move in unpredictable ways. They also need to make split-second decisions about when to pursue prey and when to call it quits. To sharpen their decision-making skills, Marlice uses an industrial sized game of cat and mouse otherwise known as a lure. It gives her cheetah a mental work out as well as a physical one -- helping them assess when they are likely to catch prey.

So, for predators, play is a mental work out as well as a physical one. And in some species, it doesn't just give the brain a work out, it could cause parts of the brain to grow.

The African elephant has one of the longest and most playful childhoods in the animal kingdom. For the first eight years of its life, a calf will rarely stray from its mother's side and with food on tap, they have plenty and time and energy for playing. Scientists now think it helps elephant develop complex social skills, making them one of the most intelligent mammals in the animal kingdom.

The power of play isn't just for the young. Macaques in the mountains above Kyoto in Japan play one very unusual game in to their old age. It is called "stone handling". Some of these remarkable primates roll their stones, others grind their stones and some simply hoard them. Professor Michael Huffman was the first to record such behaviour in this particular troop. He thinks that for the young macaques it's all about developing critical motor skills. But for the older macaques, stone handling helps prevent the onset of forgetfulness and the loss of mental agility. It is possible that playing with stones is actually slowing down the ageing process. It might explain why these particular macaques have a longer life expectancy.

Perhaps the ultimate example of play with objects can be found in one of the most intelligent animals on earth -- the chimpanzee. Studies have shown that they play in much the same way as humans and are able to solve complex puzzle using tools.

Play is so much more than just fun and games. It is fundamental to an animal's development and in some cases its survival and we are only just beginning to understand its astonishing powers.

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"Playing Together"
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Around the planet, animals play all sorts of group games, from dolphins that play catch to hyena games of tug of war. Scientists are now discovering that playing together can provide animals with all sorts of surprising benefits.

Dolphins are renowned for being some of the most playful animals on the planet, and a population of Atlantic spotted dolphins from the Bahamas certainly live up to their reputation. Youngsters play high-speed games of chase. It helps the dolphins learn how to co-ordinate their growing bodies. The adults prefer something a little more sophisticated -- collaborative games of catch the seaweed. As well as giving their big brains a work out, it is thought to help the pod unite and maintain strong social bonds.

For some animals group play can lead to friendships that last a lifetime. To cope with the challenges of living in large societies, one of our closest living relatives, the chimpanzee, uses play to work out who they can trust within the troop. There are many occasions in the life of these highly intelligent primates when they need to work together -- to find food for example. If conflict breaks out, they also need to know who's got their back.

The primate order is made up of over 500 different species and are among the most socially complex members of the animal kingdom. But research suggests that their position within their group and even their sex can determine the games they play.

A troop of playful chacma baboons is given a selection of new toys to play with. This experiment sheds light on an age-old question that surrounds human behavior: are males and females biologically programmed to play in different ways or are the differences that we see a result of social influences from parents and peers? The results are striking. The male baboons go for the active toys, like the trucks. The females go for the dolls. While it is unlikely they recognize them as trucks and dolls, it suggests that in human children toy preference likely does have an innate component.

So, group play can help animals work out who their friends are, and it can be affected by the sex of an animal, with males and females often playing very different games together. Such play can also appear chaotic and lawless to the untrained eye, but scientists are discovering that for some species it is in fact governed by a set of strict rules that, if breached, can be life threatening.

For wolves, African hunting dogs and coyotes, play can be a boisterous, noisy and aggressive affair. There is a code of conduct that can't be broken if they are to avoid hurting or even killing each other. And canines who don't adhere to that code risk being ostracized. One study of wild coyotes found that individuals who violate the rules of play are shunned by the pack and are four times less likely to survive.

Not all boisterous animal play is noisy though. Black bear cubs are almost completely silent when they playfight together. But why? Scientists think this silent play has evolved to avoid attracting unwanted attention because young bear cubs are surprisingly vulnerable. At the first sign of danger, they instinctively climb trees to safety. It's a reaction that's triggered by the release of stress hormones. It's vital that they learn to recover from that stress in order to feel safe enough to come back down again. Play fighting as cubs gets them used to experiencing stress in small and frequent doses, which makes them more adept at recovering from it as adults.

In animal species governed by a strict hierarchy, group play is the one occasion when those rigid social barriers can be broken down which can be a welcome relief to the more marginalized members of the group. Spotted hyenas live in one of the most brutal societies in the animal kingdom, and life can be particularly tough for cubs at the bottom of the pecking order. New research is finding that play can offer a moment of respite for them. Scientists think it may be vitally important for the survival of the clan -- uniting all of its members.

For some animals, play behavior is quite simply contagious.

In the mountains of New Zealand, flocks of kea parrots enjoy nothing more than pulling tourists' cars to pieces. Scientists have noticed that their playful antics appear to be contagious - where one plays, the others follow. But how do they communicate their intention to play? Their secret could lie in their 'play call', which encourages other nearby parrots to join in with the fun and games. It can allow keas to flit from flock to flock and coexist peacefully.

Throughout the animal kingdom, playing with others comes with huge benefits, building trust and lifelong friendships. It helps groups of animals to unite despite their social position and achieve more as a group than they ever could alone. For many animals its crucial to their success in the wild and even their survival.