Tickle Study

Photograph by Miriam Wessels/University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany

Marina Davila Ross of the U.K.’s University of Portsmouth led a team that tickled the necks, feet, palms, and armpits of chimp, orangutan, bonobo, gorilla, and human babies. All of the babies responded to the tickling with laughter. The study says that the ability to laugh like this comes from an ancestor that humans and great apes have in common.

Watch a video and hear chimp, gorilla, and orangutan laughter on National Geographic News.

Get the facts on orangutans in the Creature Feature.

Get the facts on chimpanzees in the Creature Feature.