From pets at play to the evolution of man

MY dog is like a canine Peter Pan.

He’s six or seven years old — I don’t know his age exactly as he had several previous owners — but that is respectable middle age for a dog. Yet he still behaves like a puppy — he refuses to take life seriously, everything revolves around play.

Retaining juvenile characteristics into adult life is called neoteny by biologists and it’s an interesting subject which seems to be a significant force in evolution.