Do animals exercise?
Most animals are physically active. They fly, walk, swim and slither to discover food, flee predators and find mates, but exercise is more than this. Its any form of voluntary physical activity that goes beyond this baseline level. Often, theres a motivational component. Humans, for example, exercise to prepare for feats of endurance, stave off disease or impress a partner. Some even say they enjoy it. Advertisement  With non-human animals, its harder to ascribe intent, making the question of do animals exercise? a tricky area of research. Its difficult to know whether a behaviour is voluntary or something that occurs as a necessary part of survival. Take play. Wolf cubs wrestle, chase and ambush their littermates, which leads to better hunting and fighting skills. The jury is out. I once had a hamster who ran so furiously on his wheel, he clocked up more revolutions than Che Guevara. Brain chemistry experiments show that domestic hamsters derive pleasure from the practice, so when he died at the wheel, at least he was happy. Annoyingly, some animals dont even need to exercise to get fit. Before they migrate, barnacle geese develop stronger hearts and bigger flight muscles just by sitting around eating. Its thought an environmental cue triggers the change, so if someone ever berates you for being a couch potato, just tell them youre channelling your inner goose. Read more:  Every week on BBC World Service, CrowdScience answers listeners questions on life, Earth and the Universe. Tune in every Friday evening on BBC World Service, or catch up online at bbcworldservice.com/crowdscience  Advertisement  To submit your questions email us at questions@sciencefocus.com (dont forget to include your name and location)