HUMANS AND APES SHARE SIMILAR LAUGHTER PATTERNS, STUDY FINDS

Researchers compared recordings of laughter from 13 captive great apes—including gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos—with recordings of four young children laughing during tickling and play. The study, published in Communications Biology, found that both humans and apes produce laughter with comparable rhythms and consistent timing between individual laughs. Scientists analysed decades-old recordings of tickled apes alongside fresh recordings of children, revealing striking similarities in how both species express playful, happy feelings through sound.

Chiara De Gregorio, a primatologist at the University of Warwick, led the research and suggested the similarity indicates a deep evolutionary connection between humans and great apes spanning approximately 15 million years. The study notes that whilst many animals produce laughter-like sounds, these do not follow human patterns as closely—rats, for instance, respond to tickling with ultrasonic squeaks. Human laughter has evolved to become faster and more complex than that of apes, with the sound varying depending on context, from polite chuckles in professional settings to fuller laughs among close friends.

Brittany Florkiewicz, an animal communication researcher at Lyon College, stated that the findings make logical sense and indicate a need for further investigation. Florkiewicz suggested that future research should examine comparable recordings from other animals that display playful facial expressions, such as dogs, horses and cats. De Gregorio described humans as "the masters of laughter," suggesting that whilst the basic mechanism evolved millions of years ago, humans have developed unique variations suited to their social environments.