Young rats like having fun. When they are tickled gently, they make a little chirping sound, and they like spending time with humans who tickle them and with other chirpy youngsters.
This film clip shows the rats who were being tickled.
Professor Marc Bekoff tells us that young rats also love to play. They enjoy chasing, wrestling, boxing and jumping on each other. When they play, rats follow rules to show they are playing. They use their snout to gently rub their playmate’s neck. The playmate then wriggles away or runs off, as you would to stop somebody tickling you.
In a fight, rather than a gentle touch to the neck, rats use a different signal: they bite their opponent’s rump!
This ability to understand another animal’s communication, and how to respond to it, is a strong indicator of animal sentience.
