Do animals ever get bored?

I have to wonder. Perhaps our human bias is what enables me to ask such a question. Perhaps even most mammals except maybe dolphins and chimps cannot think on such a level in order to create boredom. In this way, our intellect is both a blessing and a curse: It helps us do amazing things, but the need for mental stimulation at times can be annoying. But I have to wonder if I was correct in my assumption that most animals cannot experience boredom. How can one really know without being an animal mind reader? As a human, I have to wonder how they live such a life without a need for mental stimulation. Maybe they just simply "be." The concept of simply "being" however is hard for me to grasp.

All of this came from thinking about my cat.

I've pondered this same thing myself... I think what makes human's bored is the lack of caring about all the simple things in life.

Humans think. Animals think only when necessary, if they can, or else not at all.
Humans seek stimulation from their environment. Animals are their environment.
Animals can get depressed. But rarely.

I think animals can get bored. I think of the zoo when I think of bored animals. Could that also be a explanation as to why Shamoo attacks his trainer every once in a blue moon? Lock any animal in a cage, and then set them free and see how their affect is like I think any animal, due to their need to be free do in some way seek stimulation otherwise, they would not mind a robotic, routine, caged up life? If that were the case, they would totally enjoy being locked up I think.

My dog gets bored so he often finds ways to entertain himself- i.e. pouncing worms with his ears, then laying down with his muzzle on his paws observing the poor thing squirm away. He then eats it, but he could seriously have done that without torchering the poor thing.

This is more a "psychology" thread than philosophy. But I imagine that if an animal seems "bored" it's more that they have a literal thing they have an attachment to that they're being deprived of. Like a dog's owner. Which isn't the same as boredom; more like mild depression or sadness.

elephants in captivity have been known to paint if given a brush and oils to work with. i would say this would be a constructive use of an animal within the confines of a cage in alleviating stress, boredom, similar things. the action itself is bizarre and wouldn't happen in the wild, but in being gawked at all day and fed at certain intervals it's an interesting phenomenon. read somewhere that a psychologist analyzed what an elephant had painted and concluded that whomever had painted the piece was experiencing acute depression.

chimpanzee's and similar 'intellegent' animals have been known to do the same thing in zoos.

dogs digging holes= boredom

I don't know if they'd classify it as boredom. I think an animal's motto would be, "things are the way they are." If there's a need to do something, they go do it. Some have habits or activities they like to do when given the opportunity but it seems their lives only revolve around the immediate future. The immediate future being 30 seconds from now. When ya gotta pee...ya gotta pee. When you want to go for a walk...they want to go for a walk now.

Humans get bored
Humans are animals
Animals get bored

Originally Posted by Bunker Man

This is more a "psychology" thread than philosophy. But I imagine that if an animal seems "bored" it's more that they have a literal thing they have an attachment to that they're being deprived of. Like a dog's owner. Which isn't the same as boredom; more like mild depression or sadness.

I wasn't for sure where to put it, so I just dropped it here.

Originally Posted by HorribleAesthete

Humans get bored
Humans are animals
Animals get bored

Flaw in logic: This assumes all animals are like humans.

Anyway, to clarify...do nonhuman animals get bored?