system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why do we pet animals (rub hand against their fur, feathers, scales, etc) ? Is it a learned behavior or something ingrained in us?
gpt
Many reasons. Animals don't speak; touching and body language are a form of communication as well. Mammals get oxytocin (happy feeling bonding hormone) with touching, so that is a mutual benefit between us and other mammals. In general, humans are very curious and touch/pet a lot of stuff - leaves, rocks, sand/soil, etc. bc it helps us explore and learn about our world, which helps survival.