How Do Wild Animals Have Fun? (Warning: Wholesome) 

So bees rolling tiny balls around is now probably the most wholesome thing I've seen

As someone with a phobia of bees, them rolling balls around is actually adorably terrifying for me

I absolutely adore the idea of a raven forcing two cats to fight, then essentially getting out the popcorn and watching as the two duke it out

A casual geographic video that doesn't traumatize me for weeks? It truly is the Christmas season!

Knowing that crocs have a preference for pink is like founding out the school jock enjoys making pastries. A part of your brain can't help but find it wholesome.

Otters juggling rocks before food time is the same as me dancing outside the microwave

This man either traumatize us or gave us the wholesome thing ever.

The rabbits that chill in my back yard developed a pretty cool game. One will sprint full speed at the other, and at the last second the one standing still jumps straight up into the air so the one charging goes under them.

That transition into the ad was so smooth that I hardly realized the video was sponsored until halfway through the sponsored segment.

"sometimes, you need to forget the why and start enjoy the what"

I noticed that crows in the park where I take my dog often have formed a liking for him. My dog is kinda big but he's unusually calm and I noticed a long time ago that he is very liked by other dogs, especially small ones, so I concluded his energy makes others feel comfortable. Comfortable enough for him to have a bunch of ravens following him on foot, gawking at him to get his attention, and trying to pull his tail when he's not looking. My dog doesn't even acknowledge their presence and I am pretty sure getting his attention has become a game for them.

Bees rooling around with wodden balls was one of the most adorable things I have seen, I almosted cried.

Man you hit the heart matching us with logic to animals.. your worth your weight, for sure

It's so wholesome seeing animals enjoying themselves 🌟

Raven sledding is a whole other level of sugar coated cuteness I didn’t know I needed in my life. And is no one going to make a literal “puff puff pass” joke?

My cat was raised around puppies and he learned the play bow as well as holding himself back. He was a big boy for a cat and the puppies were usually at lot smaller. So you'd watch him play with the puppies a physically hold himself back as to not hurt them

Ravens and wolves also form a fairly symbiotic pairing for hunting, I would imagine. Ravens can eat the parts of the kill the wolves leave, and they can guide wolves to new kills.

That panda sliding down followed by the "good morning" stole my heart 😅

I normally hate when someone does an sponsorship in the middle of the video, but that transition in and out was so smooth, I got to give props

"the most playful elephant calves grow up to be the ones the best at coping with environmental stress" can easily be said about human children too

I was a security guard at sedgewick county zoo for 2 years, I'll always cherish watching all the different animals play. They always did their best to have atleast 2 of everything so nobody got lonely, unless it was a species that preferred to be alone. The giraffes and elephants were always the highlight of my day.

"I appreciate how that song spells out 'FYA' and not 'FUN' and we all just collectively accepted that." Awesome way to start off. This is indeed an undeniable fact.

That was the smoothest seque I've ever seen. Also, it has been discovered that male and female snakes have double the adult kind of fun.

When I was in the Galapagos, I went swimming in a small cove and a sea lions came off a nearby rock and swam right up to me. He immediately started doing loopti-loops around me in a playful manner and I joined in by diving and swimming around. We kept this up for 15 minutes, it was awesome. I knew it wasn't aggressive because he was super chill and slow with his swimming, unlike the other males who'd made points of charging aggressively at tourists.

That corvid bird (not sure which species) instigating the cat fight and then sitting back to enjoy the show is 100% my favourite.

So he can't make a warning for "you're going to have nightmares after seeing these images" But he can make a warning for "wholesome"

was really having a terrible week. lost a close friend, got forgotten for christmas. hearing hollow knight greenpath music honestly just made me tear up, comfort immediately in a place i never expected...thanks casual geographic, for unexpected comfort when it was needed.

This man has the smoothest transitions into ads from sponsors, it's so smooth that i actually watch the ads instead of skipping them

Can confirm, my dog constantly bows and loves being chased. He shows off his agility against the larger dogs, the only time he had been caught when he was up against multiple dogs and one of them was a herder. The bee rolling around with a ball was something I never knew I needed until now

The gators and crocs playing were so damn cute. I love when giant murder machines are being cute and derpy.

Having been on certain psychedelics in the woods before, I would not be surprised if Jaguars are doing it partially to heighten perception. I remember following a set of deer tracks that stood out so much while under the influence it was like playing The Wicher lol.

As a Norse Gaelic descendant this is kind of astonishing because it parallels how the Nordic raven and wolf clans were staunch Allies and worked very well together.

One time I was at the zoo and as I was walking by the seal exhibit, one of the seals hopped on the middle island too fast and slid all the way across it back into the water. All of them picked up on it VERY quickly and pretty soon they were all swimming around the island as fast as they could, then leaping out of the water onto the island and sliding to the other side. I WISH I had a phone at that time. I absolutely would have recorded it.

imagine how relieved these animals feel after not needing to fear death every second and get to do a flip

Bro, you have no idea how much I needed this video. I had a really rough week, like really rough, and this smile inducing video was exactly the remedy. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart

6:26 Ok that sounds incredibly wholesome. I love the idea of Crocodiles just loving the colour pink and playing games together. It sounds so cute.

I love this. It's so true about the "self handicapping" that animals do when they "play" ~it's so cool to see animals display this behavior.

Grew up with many doggos when I was a kid, "the bow" (placing your hands out on the ground and putting your head down) was one of the first things I learned about doggies. Do this and it's playtime/wrestling :)

I'll never forget when I was at a zoo in Switzerland and saw two elephants play wrestling. It was weird but also amazing to see two animals that huge play around like puppies, like they didn't weigh 5 tons each.

As someone who loves birds a TON, especially corvids, and is also very appreciative and defensive of wolves and loves them as wild animals, the beginning of the video being about wolves and corvids' relationships with them makes my heart so damn happy.

The ways you've been integrating sponsorship segments is actually masterful, both in terms of transitions and in engagement by continuing to give tidbits of information throughout Like, for real, good job

Ravens in Central Park are known to mimic popular ring tones just to troll people walking through. I once read an anecdote from someone running the Iditarod where they'd stopped for a break and found themselves unable to look away from something strange they'd spotted. It was so weird, in fact, that they just stood there staring at it so long that another sledder stopped to check on them, and found themselves mesmerized as well, before the first one asked the second one, "You're seeing this, too, right? I'm not hallucinating?" And the second sledder confirmed that they were watching a giant bull moose running onto the surface of a frozen lake, falling down onto his hindquarters to slide across it, and then getting up and doing it again.

This entire video is the perfect mix of humor, wholesomeness and fun. Perfect for a Friday.

His transition to the sponsor was so smooth I didn't even realize it was a sponsor for a good ten seconds.

Learning gators like pink flowers was the most blessed thing I've learned all weak, thank you.

The ants transition was so clean it took me to 4:23 to even realize he was promoting a game

I kept hamsters a few years ago. They are not super bright but the whole running on a wheel thing is a form of play. I can't remember the study, but a group left hamster wheels in a forest and observed wild mice, toads, snails and other animals chose to use the exercise wheel. These animals were not told to use the wheel and could leave whenever, but chose to run on it. That seems like an example of animal fun to me

My dad did his Masters in Yellowstone over 30 years ago. He could have told you that otters love play even back then lol. He was doing research in the river, in a full wetsuit and flippers. A group of otters lived in the area, and over time they got used to him. Dad used to say they thought he was one of them, just all big and weird looking. They'd come and swim around him, chasing each other and trying to get his attention. He said they'd also do the belly sliding thing in other seasons too, sliding into the river from steep embankments in groups. It always sounded so magical as a kid, a whole family of otter playing with you while you worked. Of course, it probably screwed with his work, but he always enjoyed interacting with them.

Oh wow , this was really interesting . Ravens are freaking adorable when they play and i never knew crocs liked the color pink .

"There are actual ants out there that will go out of their way to meal prep spiders." Young man, you have a knack for wording things in the most hilarious, ridiculous-yet-still-accurate way possible. I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos - and I learn something new every time, too. Keep up the good work 🙂

A theory of mine about how wolves started to fetch stuff because of the crows, is when crows do this with vultures too, essentialy picking up an unwanted bone from the carcass, tossing it somewhere else to distract the wolf or the vulture from getting into the juicy bits of their carcass. It has been recorded plenty of times and the wolves and vultures seems to be happy with it and stop bothering the crows on the carcass itself for as long as the interest in the bone is kept (or the marrow is consumed).

Having a home aquarium and testing out different filters and pumps, I got to witness how even guppies and gold fish would play in the currents for fun. With rock layouts I created a swim lane for them, and rocks to keep the rest of the tank calm and slow moving water if they wanted. The fish would use the track as fun to swim with each other, some would try to outswim the current as a game and go back to the beginning and do it all over again, but not always the super fast sprint, just more like a tread mill and group walking event. Fish taught me not only do they like to have just a slight amount of entertainment (faster currents) but they have personalities (basic ones) where there is a pecking order, and trusted friends to hang out with in cliques.

The transition into that ad read was so freaking smooth it caught me off guard. And the new character you can unlock in the most recent update is Godzilla.

I love how even when he's trying to talk about cute things dolphins do, he can't help but mention as well the bullying and vulgar activities they partake in lmao

I’m a 70 year old woman sharing a home with my oldest friend. She will come & confront me’ what is so funny?’ It’s always You. You make me laugh out loud when I’m watching alone. I appreciate your effort, your humor and just wanted to tell you. Thank you hon. Pamela Self FtWorth Tx

Going to school to become a biologist forces me to try and answer the "why" question all the time. This is a nice reminder to just appreciate the "what." It keeps things magic. Great content man, keep it up!

I grew up in remote Alaska. I think all baby animals play. I think their parents often join in. I have watched a moose cow play with her calves in a sprinkler on a hot summer day. I have watched sow bears play with their cubs. I think the most under appreciated player is the beluga whales. They will play all by themselves, with others of their own kind, and when they can talk em into it, humans. I had a my dogs soft frisbee in my coat one time when I went fishing. Spent 2 hr of that day playing fetch with a beluga. Such a charmer.

Alone in the wilderness (a selfmade documentary/video journal about a man trying to live in Alaska without modern amenities in the 1950s ish) has a part where he filmed a wolverine sliding down a hill and running back up to do it again

This man is the KING of slipping in an advertisement. You don't even realize the ad until 15 seconds into it.

Seeing polar bears playing was something I didn't know I needed. This whole video was cute af

14:20 is the same for humans as well. It's said by leading psychologists that there's no limit to how much love you can give a child, the more they receive in adolescence, the happier and stronger their mental health is going to be into adulthood. Pair bonding is crucial for mammals not just for survival, but for emotional wellbeing. This of course means us since we evolved from these animals which have these behaviours and mechanisms that enrich their experience as living organisms.

This explains a raven I saw in the mountains once that was flying around like Topgun. It was the most acrobatic flying I've ever seen a bird do outside humming birds. But I did know why he was doing it since there was no food around or anything.

11:18 "Their very much one-sided beef with gravity"...you absolute unit of a wordsmith you😂😂😂

The wolf & crow always warms my heart, a lot more people should know, it would lessen the useless hate against wolves

Happy Holidays everyone! Nothing like wonderful gift of a video from Casual Geographic to brighten up that holiday cheer! Hope you and your furry friends have a good Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza! 🎄❄️🎄

13:36 “get floppy with it” is weirdly the cutest way to describe this 😭 brb gonna go cry for a minute

Things like the elephant one make me wonder how playful were extinct animals? Imagine if Triceratops loved belly rubs or something

Seeing animals having fun, even some of the more surprising animals like bees, is one of the best way to release so much stress!

The elephant throwing a tantrum was just too adorable 😭😭

i love how wolves and ravens have a really lovely relationship ravens playing with wolves, and also being the closest to a dinner bell for wolves in nature ravens will call in wolves to tear carcasses of larger animals so ravens can eat the scraps if you take your time to observe ravens even in the city you'll notice how intelligent they are, while scavenging bags from trash they will actively turn them over, turn them back up and look inside, i've once missed my bus to school because i was stuck looking at some ravens playing

I watched a pair of otters playing with two children through the window at a zoo. It was the most adorable thing I've seen.

We need more wholesome stuff about wild animals like this. This is just so cute.

When I was growing up, we had a pony named George who would play ball with us in the yard. He was the best. ❤️ It's no surprise that so many other animals love to play too!

You've been doing a lot of wholesome stuff recently. This makes me afraid for next year....

Your videos rock. Don’t ever quit. In a world where so much is wrong, you bring so much right.

The thing about wolves fetching as cubs surprised me. Not because I thought it was impossible or anything, but I’d always assumed that it was easily taught to dogs because of their natural tendencies to kill, retrieve and bring the food back to their den/puppies. So, I thought that was probably why it was easy to get dogs to play fetch…it was already part of their biology, if you will. It never ceases to amaze me how much I’m still learning everyday. I’m 49 yrs old and I love that you always talk about something new to me. On another note; kind of… the cubs playing fetch without being prompted or trained to do so reminds me of orca calves. They learn so much by watching the members of their pod and other orcas…things you wouldn’t expect an animal like that to know about or even care about. But they also play and fetch..unfortunately for any nearby seals or sea lions they are usually the object of the calf’s playtime and it doesn’t end well for them. But still, they’re so cute when they play…. I’ve even seen them play tag with other calves. That I saw in the wild, not at an aquarium or whale sanctuary. Thanks for another informative and fun animal adventure! Have a wonderful holiday season with your friends and family! ❄️ ⛄️ 🎄 🕎 🕯️🌨️ 🍽️ 🍖 🥮 🥣 🥧 🥂 🙏🏻 💕

My folks' cat is obsessed with those plastic window clings. She used to steal them, toss them in a box, then prowl around the box and pounce on it. I'm pretty sure we've also watched her straight up using her imagination to pounce on pretend prey, because she used to legit stalk and then jump at things that weren't there.

If you spend any time at all on the reptile keeping side of RU-vid you'll know just how smart and playful alligators are. The channel named Snake Discovery has a female gator called Rex who loves to play with her ball and enjoys solving puzzles. She's also been trained to respond to her name and to instructions like entering her pool or moving to a specific part of her enclosure so a keeper can open the door to place food inside without getting a faceful of excited alligator. In a similar vein, Kevin from the channel New England Reptile Distributors has a huge gator who loves pizza so much that she'll get visibly excited at just hearing the word. Seeing her scarf down a tasty slice is an absolute joy to behold (even if it's only a rare treat).

*THE LAD* is such a smooth talker. The presentation is amazing, and his success is well-deserved.

My male cat sat and watched this video with me. I watched him as much as I watched your video. He was intently actively watching, especially the bees 🐝

Ravens and wolves have relationships? Kind of ties in with how they're seen in Norse mythology. Hugin and Munin are two raven spies of Odin and Geri and Freki are their wolf counterparts. It might be based in observations of them in nature.

It is so AWESOME to see a young man making HILARIOUS and educational content that I like my son to watch. On a platform where kids often cuss and act out in horrible ways just to get views. It's so refreshing to see someone actually using their brain to make interesting content👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾good job young man your definitely going places and I'm sure your family is very proud of you. I know I am🥰

Man, what a treat watching your videos. Many , many content creators can take lessons from you in how infotainment should be done.

9:38 I never knew a pufferfish could look so relatable.

The play bow thing is real. I used to have a husky, and whenever I did the play bow to him, dear god did he get hyper. We would both have a good time after that. Our favorite thing to do was wrestle with each other, and we would actually take turns pinning each other. I was strong enough to win on my own (huskies are light-weight for their size), but I would let him pin me sometimes because we were both having so much fun with it, so I guess I learned the 'self-nerfing' thing through practice. I really miss that dog...

I had two cats that played fetch since kittenhood without ever having to be taught. I always felt that was more based on the individuals reasoning skills and how much they liked that game. There are some dogs that don't fetch, or don't understand or like fetch too. I don't know, just seemed to make sense to me.

seeing a bee huging a ball and playing with it was the cutest thing i saw today 😢❤

(3:50) That was the smoothest ad transition ever

Out of curiosity, what's your favorite way animals can have fun? Mines was when bees play around with the tiny balls/beads

The fact that that croc ran over like a dog in response to his name being called 🥺 This video is so wholesome… until I’m reminded of how evil dolphins are.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the wolves would start off this video. They are my absolute favorite. That was also very interesting to learn about the test they did with the wolf puppies playing fetch with someone they didn’t know. Very cool. 😊

1:20 Clicked for the wholesome and was personally attacked

I worked at and studied at a zoo, and they call it “animal enrichment”. We had to invent new ways every day to incorporate the animals natural wild behaviors into the “play”. Sometimes it was to accomplish something like finding or obtaining high value treat foods, chunks of meat or hay or tablets or whatever. sometimes it was legitimate playtime. our otters favorite things to do was paint with nontoxic finger paint! So when you see fun stuff to do layed out at the zoo for the animals, now you know what it’s called!

Aww elephant zoomies!! 💜 The fact I always said if I see a wolf in my yard I'm just going to throw a ball at it and see if it will play and spare my life is amazing. Now knowing they may actually play fetch. 💜

A gang whose group name is an unkindness. Seriously 🤣 THE single best wordplay I've enjoyed in almost 63 years. You, sir, are a Rock Star! Keep it coming!

Regarding the fetch thing: my cat does that as well, and I've never taught her. She just realized that if she wants me to throw something again, she'll have to bring that thing back to me. Smart kitty.

Also, Moose apperently REALLY like splashing water and will play in puddles. They'll even play with sprinkles in your backyard

That sponsor segment was SMOOTH. FLAWLESS VICTORY.

The building I live in is beside another building, and that creates a wind tunnel. Crows know all about this wind tunnel, and will gather on breezy days to f around. Watching them play is like watching kids invent games. A dog plays because it's important for socialization, a cat plays because it's good hunting practise, but the crows appeared to be challenging each other to dive and hover and stuff like that. All animals play, but the crows' organized play was something else.

Good stuff! You should do one on how certain fruit trees in Africa drop fermented friuit that animals will gather to eat and get drunk. Elephants staggering drunk next to drunk wildebeasts and gazelles, and other animals that come to the trees to eat the fermented fruit to cut loose. It's a hoot to watch.