Self-handicapping in object play: how belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) make play difficult

Although observed in animals from various taxa, object play is not well studied. While studying object play in managed care belugas (Delphinapterus leucas), we noticed that, in some cases, the belugas self-handicap their play. For example, a beluga may push a ball onto a ledge, so that the object can only be reached by the beluga beaching itself. Self-handicapping has been described in locomotor and social play, but is rarely, if ever, reported in object play. The belugas of this study self-handicap themselves while playing with objects in 3.9% of cases. All nine of the immature belugas were observed to self-handicap, which accounted for 90.6% of the self-handicapping bouts observed. Even though rare, some degree of self-handicapping may be important in ensuring continued playfulness irrespective of the type of play involved. Broader comparative studies on the presence and role of self-handicapping across species and types of play are needed.