Monday, March 14, 2011

Ox and Dog Interspecies Play; Toy or Tool?



In the first half of the video Scout the Ox and Harry the Dog play with a section of garden hose; Harry the Dog then switches to using the hose to poke at Scout the Ox ---at which time the ox attempts to take the hose away from the dog. It's all in good fun; as regular readers of this blog know, the ox and dog are companion animals and best of friends.

Is this further proof that the notion, tool use makes humans unique, is outdated? This was completely self-invented use of a garden hose, first as a toy (is a toy a tool when used to engage another?), and then as a pseudo-horn (tool?) to poke at the ox.