According to researchers, play is a voluntary behaviour that is repeated several times and it does not seem to have an obvious function. For example, bear cub running, and not from a large male grizzly. We have seen dogs and cats playing and some of us have seen wildlife playing. Just have to pop onto your computer and it does not take long to find a video of bear cubs playing for example. I have seen the behaviour with my own eyes of four month old cubs to a 22-year-old male grizzly playing. Birds have been observed playing, reptiles and the list increases as more studies are conducted. The challenge seems to be trying to find the reasoning behind it, what are the benefits of using all that energy for playing.
One theory is it may increase a brain’s functionality, helping increase the number of neuron connections. Which in turn can help the animals anything they do, hunting, mating, etc…, increasing the chance of surviving in the wild.
But when I saw this cub and his mother playing with each other, it was easier to see for those of us lucky enough to observe bears a number of times. I was not thinking why, all I could do was smile and remember to take a few pictures. It was one of my favourite moments watching them take turns chasing each other.
