Play is serious business for elephants

Young dogs, apes and other animals develop skills needed to survive and reproduce. People tend to think of play as an activity one engages in at one’s leisure, outside of learning important skills needed to succeed later in life, such as hunting, mating, and evading predators. But although playing is fun for all involved—and fun for those who are watching—play behaviours evolved as ritualised forms of survival skills needed later in life, providing the opportunity to perfect those skills.