动物也会笑吗？

Laughing is a way for people to connect and bond. Its sound is usually recognizable although reasons for laughing could vary across groups and individuals. But how about animals? Do they also laugh?

笑是人类沟通和联系的一种方式。这类声音通常是可识别的，虽然笑的原因可能因人而异。但是动物呢?它们也会笑吗?

So, if they do laugh, were the causes that trigger their laughter resembles that of humans? Typically, humans laugh to express a range of emotions, from positive feelings to negative ones like disgust. Humans also laugh when they hear a joke or see something funny.

那么，如果它们真的笑了，引发它们笑的原因是否与人类相似?通常，人类通过笑来表达一系列的情绪，从积极的情绪到厌恶的消极情绪。当听到笑话或看到有趣的东西时，也会笑。

Laughing is usually only associated with humans and possibly some primates, but a recent study shows that they are not the only mammals that enjoy good laughter.

笑通常只与人类和一些灵长类动物有关，但最近的一项研究表明，我们并不是唯一享有笑的哺乳动物。

图源：Wikimedia Commons

Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) revealed that there are dozens of animals that can laugh. In total, BGR reported that the team has managed to identify 65 different creatures that laugh.

加州大学洛杉矶分校(UCLA)的科学家透露，有几十种动物都会笑。BGR报告说，研究小组总共成功识别出65种会笑的生物。

Animal vocalizations sometimes sound like a burst of laughter, but scientists said that not all of these are linked to playing.

动物的叫声有时听起来像一阵笑声，但科学家说，并不是所有这些都与玩耍有关。

The team identified playfulness as a key in differentiating animal vocalizations that are similar to the sound of human laughter and those sounds that only sound like laughter. After all, animals make vocalizations that may sound as if they are laughing but in truth, they are in danger, or perhaps it is a defense mechanism they use against predators.

研究小组认为，玩耍是区分动物叫声的关键，动物叫声类似于人类的笑声，而这些叫声仅仅只是听起来像笑声。毕竟，动物发出的声音听起来可能像是在笑，但事实上，它们可能处于危险之中，或者这是它们用来抵御捕食者的一种防御机制。

In that sense, researchers pointed out very interesting conclusions, linking laughter and panting. They believe that laughter originated from heavy breathing during play.

从这个意义上说，研究人员指出了非常有趣的结论，将笑声和喘息联系起来。他们认为笑是由于玩耍时呼吸沉重引起的。

As researchers wrote in their study, "Play vocalizations and human laughter: a comparative review," published in Bioacoustics:

正如研究人员发表在《生物声学》上的研究报告——《播放发声和人类的笑声：比较评论》中写道的：

"Our review indicates that vocal play signals are usually inconspicuous, although loud vocalizations, which suggest a broadcast function, are present in humans and some other species. Spontaneous laughter in humans shares acoustic and functional characteristics with play vocalizations across many species, but most notably with other great apes. Play vocalizations in primates and other mammals often include sounds of panting, supporting the theory that human laughter evolved from an auditory cue of labored breathing during play."

“我们的综述表明，尽管人类和其他一些物种中，存在着广播功能的大声发声，但发声信号通常不明显。在许多物种中，人类自发的笑声与许多物种的游戏发声具有相同的声学和功能特征，最明显的是与其他类人猿。灵长类和其他哺乳动物的游戏发声通常包括喘息声，这也印证了人类的笑声是从玩耍时费力呼吸的听觉线索进化而来的理论。”