Exuberance: The Passion for Life (43 page)

60.
“Cold west wind afternoon”: December 7, 1931, entry in weather notebook, quoted in Blanchard,
Snowflake Man
, p. 214.

1.
a stuff which will not endure: “Youth’s a stuff will not endure,” William Shakespeare,
Twelfth Night
, Act II, scene 3, line 53.

2.
“In the sun that is young”: Dylan Thomas, “Fern Hill,” in
The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
(New York: New Directions, 1953), p. 178.

3.
“Natural selection”: Karl Groos,
The Play of Animals
, trans. E. L. Baldwin (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1898), p. xx.

4.
Plein
, meaning, in Middle Dutch: John Ayto,
Dictionary of Word Origins
(New York: Arcade, 1991).

5.
“soup of behavior”: S. Miller, “Ends, Means, and Galumphing: Some Leitmotifs of Play,”
American Anthropologist
, 75: 87–98 (1973).

6.
“went simply galumphing about”: Lewis Carroll,
The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits
(1876; New York: Pantheon, 1966), p. 26.

7.
“One, two! One, two!”: Lewis Carroll,
Through the Looking-Glass
, in
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
(1871; New York: Signet, 2000), p. 138.

8.
Rhesus monkeys running to play: D. S. Sade, “An Ethogram for Rhesus Monkeys: I. Antithetical Contrasts in Posture and Movement,”
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
, 38: 537–42 (1973).

9.
facial expressions of black bear cubs: J. D. Henry and S. M. Herrero, “Social Play in the American Black Bear: Its Similarity to Canid Social Play and an Examination of Its Identifying Characteristics,”
American Zoologist
, 14:371–89 (1974).

10.
“gives the whole world”: Groos,
Play of Animals
, p. 326.

11.
“It exploded with joy”: George B. Schaller,
The Last Panda
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), p. 66.

12.
“Wombat play”: Barbara Triggs,
The Wombat: Common Wombats in Australia
(Sydney: University of New South Wales, 1996), pp. 79–80.

13.
“hair-trigger mousetraps”: Carolyn King,
The Natural History of Weasels and Stoats
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1989), p. 4.

14.
“From whichever retreat”: quoted ibid., p. 6, from P. Drabble,
A Weasel in My Meatsafe
(London: Michael Joseph, 1977).

15.
“extremely bad at doing nothing”: Gavin Maxwell,
Ring of Bright Water
(1960; New York: Penguin, 1996), p. 92.

16.
“what soon became”: ibid., p. 102.

17.
“would set out from the house”: ibid., p. 138.

18.
Marc Bekoff, a biologist: M. Bekoff, “The Development of Social Interaction, Play, and Metacommunication in Mammals: An Ethological Perspective,”
Quarterly Review of Biology
, 47: 412–34 (1972). Among the general sources I consulted about animal play—in addition to those listed elsewhere in these notes—were F. A. Beach, “Current Concepts of Play in Animals,”
American Naturalist
, 79: 523–41 (1945); D. F. Lancy, “Play in Species Adaptation,”
Annual Review of Anthropology
, 9: 471–95 (1980); Paul D. MacLean,
The Triune Brain: Role in Paleocerebral Functions
(New York: Plenum, 1990); Marc Bekoff and John A. Byers,
Animal Play: Evolutionary, Comparative, and Ecological Perspectives
(Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1998); David F. Bjorklund and Anthony D. Pellegrini,
The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology
(Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association Press, 2002).

19.
“He won’t say”: Annie Dillard,
Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters
(New York: Harper Colophon, 1982), p. 15.

20.
“Young bulls love to chase things”: Katy Payne,
Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants
(New York: Penguin, 1998), pp. 72–73.

21.
Young sea lions: Marianne Riedman,
The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea Lions, and Walruses
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), p. 338.

22.
Harbor seals of all ages: D. Renouf, “Play in a Captive Breeding Colony of Harbour Seals
(Phoca vitulina):
Constrained by Time or by Energy?”
Journal of Zoology
, 231: 351–63 (1993).

23.
Biologists studying harbor seals: ibid.

24.
“One animal, probably a subadult”: George B. Schaller, Hu Jinchu, Pan Wenshi, and Zhu Jing,
The Giant Pandas of Wolong
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), p. 150.

25.
Japanese macaque monkeys: G. Eaton, “Snowball Construction by a Feral Troop of Japanese Macaques
(Macaca fuscata)
Living Under Seminatural Conditions,”
Primates
, 13: 411–14 (1972).

26.
young wolf’s first experience: John Fentress, “Animal Emotions: Wolves,” paper presented at conference on animal emotions held at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 28, 2000.

27.
ravens pushing themselves: Bernd Heinrich,
Mind of the Raven
(New York: Cliff Street Books, 1999).

28.
dancelike behaviors: Payne,
Silent Thunder
, p. 63.

29.
“He’d whirl in a circle”: Ronald Rood,
How Do You Spank a Porcupine?
(Shelburne, Vt.: New England Press, 1969), p. 61.

30.
The porcupines, in solitary play: A. R. Shadle, “The Play of American Porcupines,”
Journal of Comparative Psychology
, 37: 145–49 (1944), p. 147.

31.
Young weasels and stoats: King,
Natural History of Weasels and Stoats
.

32.
“The random high spirits of youth”: P. Chalmers Mitchell,
The Childhood of Animals
(London: William Heinemann, 1912), p. 242.

33.
“in order that they may have surplus energy”: ibid., p. 245.

34.
facilitate an animal’s ability to move: J. Byers and C. Walker, “Refining the Motor Training Hypothesis for the Evolution of Play,”
American Nature
, 146: 25–40 (1995).

35.
Very young cheetah cubs: T. M. Caro, “Short-Term Costs and Correlates of Play in Cheetahs,”
Animal Behaviour
, 49: 333–45 (1995).

36.
Serengeti lion cubs: George B. Schaller,
The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972).

37.
even domestic cattle will play: A. Brownlee, “Play in Domestic Cattle in Britain: An Analysis of Its Nature,”
British Veterinary Journal, 1
10: 48–68 (1954).

38.
Sea lions and seals play: Reidman,
Pinnipeds
.

39.
Dolphins have been seen: Rachel Smolker,
To Touch a Wild Dolphin
(New York: Doubleday, 2001).

40.
“stretch their necks above the surface”: Hope Ryden,
Lily Pond
(New York: Lyons & Burford, 1989), pp. 215–16.

41.
He smelled, touched, and tasted: Joyce Poole,
Coming of Age with Elephants
(New York: Hyperion, 1996), p. 157.

42.
Birds also play: W. H. Thorpe, “Ritualization in Ontogeny: I. Animal Play,”
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
, series B, 251: 311–19 (1966); Heinrich,
Mind of the Raven
.

43.
Play is conspicuously rare in reptiles: Play has been observed only rarely in reptiles, presumably due to their limited energy and thermal resources. An interesting exception is a Nile soft-shelled turtle at the National Zoo in Washington who played with several objects added to his tank (including a rubber hoop, sticks, and a basketball). Unlike reptiles in the wild, however, this turtle had his metabolic and food needs met by others. G. M. Burghardt, B. Ward, and R. Rosscoe, “Problem of Reptile Play: Environmental Enrichment and Play Behavior in a Captive Nile Soft-Shelled Turtle,
Trionyx triunguis,” Zoo Biology
, 15: 223–38 (1996).

44.
“The young of the Komodo dragon”: P. D. MacLean, “Brain Evolution Relating to Family, Play, and the Separation Call,”
Archives of General Psychiatry
, 42: 402–17 (1985).

45.
communal den of spotted hyenas: C. M. Drea, J. E. Hawk, and S. E. Glickman, “Aggression Decreases as Play Emerges in Infant Spotted Hyaenas: Preparation for Joining the Clan,”
Animal Behaviour
, 51: 1323–36 (1996).

46.
“Not a single night had passed”: Ryden,
Lily Pond
, pp. 87, 104.

47.
Wolves, who form close packs: Bekoff, “Development of Social Interaction.”

48.
Common seals engage: S. Wilson, “Juvenile Play of the Common Seal
Phoca vitulina
with Comparative Notes on the Grey Seal
Halichoerus grypus,” Behaviour
, 48: 37–60 (1971).

49.
“merely nuzzled each other”: Personal communication from Desmond Morris to S. Wilson, quoted ibid.

50.
“Something was obviously amiss”: Benjamin Kilham and Ed Gray,
Among the Bears: Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild
(New York: Henry Holt, 2002), pp. 254–55.

51.
“almost delirious with excitement”: Cynthia Moss, “Animal Emotions: Elephants,” paper presented at conference on animal emotions held at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., October 28, 2000.

52.
“rush together, heads high”: Joyce Poole, “Family Reunions,” in
The Smile of a Dolphin
, ed. Marc Bekoff (New York: Discovery Books, 2000), p. 122.

53.
“Protected, comforted, cooed over”: Joyce Poole, keynote address to the 22nd Annual Elephant Managers Workshop, presented by Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Orlando, Fla., November 9–12, 2001.

54.
“elephantine joy”: Moss, Smithsonian lecture, 2000.

55.
“The bird suddenly stretches”: William J. L. Sladen, “Social Structure Among Penguins,” in
Group Processes
, ed. B. Schaffner (New York: Josiah Macy, Jr., Foundation, 1956), p. 45.

56.
African wild dogs: R. D. Estes and J. Goodard, “Prey Selection and Hunting Behavior of the African Wild Dog,”
Journal of Wildlife Management
, 31: 52–70 (1967), p. 57.

57.
powerfully reinforcing opioid systems: A. P. Humphreys and D. F. Einon, “Play as a Reinforcer for Maze-Learning in Juvenile Rats,”
Animal Behaviour
, 29: 259–70 (1981); W. W. Beatty and K. B. Costello, “Naloxone and Play Fighting in Juvenile Rats,”
Pharmacological and Biochemical Behavior
, 17: 905–7 (1982); J. Panksepp, J. E. Jalowiec, F. G. DeEskenazi, and P. Bishop, “Opiates and Play Dominance in Juvenile Rats,”
Behavioral Neuroscience
, 99: 441–53 (1985); L.J.M.J. Vanderschuren, R.J.M. Niesink, B. M. Spruijt, and J. M. Van Ree, “Effects of Morphine on Different Aspects of Social Play in Juvenile Rats,”
Psychopharmacology, 11
7: 225–51 (1995); L.J.M.J. Vanderschuren, E. A. Stein, V. M. Wiegant, and J. M. Van Ree, “Social Play Alters Regional Brain Opioid Receptor Binding in Juvenile Rats,”
Brain Research
, 680: 148–56 (1995); Jaak Panksepp,
Affective Neuroscience
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 248.

58.
“brain source of joy”: Panksepp,
Affective Neuroscience
, p. 280.

59.
play probably increases gene expression: ibid., p. 291.

60.
Trout raised in hatcheries: Research findings presented by Michael Marchetti and Gabrielle Nevitt to the Ecological Society of America in August 2000,
Science
, 289 (August 25, 2000).

61.
“the brains of domestic rabbits”: Charles Darwin,
The Descent of Man
, in
The Works of Charles Darwin
, vol. 21 (London: Pickering & Chatto, 1989), p. 59; first published in 1871.

62.
“learns during play”: Jane Goodall,
In the Shadow of Man
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988), p. 156.

63.
“Inasmuch as new objects”: William James,
The Principles of Psychology
, vol. II (1890; New York: Dover, 1950), p. 429.

64.
“susceptibility for being excited”: ibid.

65.
“It’s cat and monkey spirit”: Eugene Walter, as told to Katherine Clark,
Milking the Moon: A Southerner’s Story of Life on This Planet
(New York: Crown, 2001).

66.
The systems in the brain: Panksepp,
Affective Neuroscience
.

67.
“There was a child went forth”: Walt Whitman, “There Was a Child Went
Forth,” in
Leaves of Grass
, ed. Sculley Bradley and Harold W. Blodgett (New York: Norton, 1965), p. 364.

68.
“an acting out of options”: Heinrich,
Mind of the Raven
, p. 294.

69.
“One by one”: Quoted in Cynthia Asquith,
Portrait of Barrie
(London: Greenwood Press, 1954), p. 220.

70.
Highly creative children: E. P. Torrance, “Priming Creative Thinking in the Primary Grades,”
Elementary School Journal
, 62: 139–45 (1961); J. W. Getzels and P. W. Jackson,
Creativity and Intelligence
(New York: Wiley, 1962); M. A. Wallach and N. Kogan,
Modes of Thinking in Young Children
(New York: Holt, 1965).