Robert “Bob” Fagen’s primary research interest is the biology of animal play. His book Animal Play Behavior is the definitive text on the subject. His scholarly work describes, explains, and interprets play in the animal world and explores its meaning from ethological and evolutionary standpoints. Previous research includes a ten-year, in-depth field study of play in brown bears on Admiralty Island, Alaska, which demonstrated that play behavior in brown bears is related to their long-term survival. This effect seems to exist in the young of other species as well. He has also studied play behavior in birds, horses, domestic dogs, and other mammals. In addition to his scholarly research, he works with students local to Juneau, Alaska, and online.
Most Influential Work:
- Animal Play Behavior (Oxford University Press, 1981) is the definitive text on animal play and is still a standard reference.
- “Juvenile survival and benefits of play behavior in brown bears, Ursus arctos” (PDF)
View all books and articles on our site by Robert M. Fagen:
