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CrowdScience: Do animals have anxious habits like us?

Discussion & Talk

Do animals have anxious habits like us?

22/03/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - CrowdScience, Do animals have anxious habits like us?

Why do we bite our nails - and do animals share similar habits?

We humans have stress-relieving habits like biting our nails; do animals share similar habits?

Many of us have habits that calm us down in times of stress. Things we find deeply comforting, like sucking our thumb or biting our nails. We might not even be aware we’re doing them, but they play a fundamental role in helping us regulate our emotions.  

Our question this week comes from CrowdScience listener and nail-biter, Ash. He wants to know where these habits come from. And since his pet dog is also a nail-biter: do we share these traits with other animals? 

Recently, a video of a mouse cleaning up a man’s shed took the internet by storm. Was this a house-proud mouse, or was it the animal's way of making sense of a frenetic environment? An emerging field of scientists focusing on animal behaviour and emotions help us shed some light on such questions.  

Along the way we meet a dog training specialist, learn what a sniffari is, go for playtime with a thumb-sucking otter, and visit an OCD clinic. We’ll also be getting tips on how to give your pets the best home environment, and meet an animal enrichment officer in South Africa, who knows how to spot the signs of an unhelpful habit developing. 

Contributors: 
Karolina Westlund, Ethologist, Stockholm University and ILLIS 
Ben Terry, CBT Therapist, Priory Hospital North London 
Karin Pienaar, Animal Behaviourist, COAPE International 
Candice Ward, Animal Behaviourist, Johannesburg Zoo

Jaak Panksepp clip: The science of emotions: Jaak Panksepp at TEDxRainier 

Producer: Robbie Wojciechowski
Presenter: Alex Lathbridge
Editor: Cathy Edwards
Production co-ordinator: Connor Morgans
Additional recording by Elna Schutz

(Photo: Portrait of border collie puppy biting a curtain. Credit: Rawlstock/Getty Images)

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