Everything about Licking totally explained
Licking is the action of passing the
tongue over a (solid or liquid) surface, typically either to deposit
saliva onto the surface or to collect liquid onto the tongue for
ingestion. Many animals both
groom themselves and
drink by licking.
Licking in animals
Licking is a common way for animals to clean themselves. In
mammals, licking helps keep the
fur clean and untangled. The tongues of many mammals have a rough upper surface that acts like a brush when the animal licks its fur. Certain reptiles, such as
geckos, clean their
eyes by licking them.
Mammals typically lick their offspring clean immediately after
birth; in many species this is necessary to free the newborn from the
amniotic sac. The licking not only cleans and dries the offspring's fur, but also stimulates its
breathing and
digestive processes.
Some animals, such as
cats, also use licking to cool themselves. As cats don't
sweat the way humans do, the saliva deposited by licking provides a similar means of
evaporative cooling
Many animals also drink by licking. While young mammals drink milk from their mothers' nipples by
sucking, the typical method of drinking for adult mammals involves dipping the tongue repeatedly into water and using it to scoop water into the mouth. This method of drinking relies in part on the water adhering to the surface of the tongue and in part on muscular control of the tongue to form it into a
spoonlike shape.
Hummingbirds are often said to "sip" nectar, but in fact they lap up nectar on their long tongues. Their tongues have fringed edges, which help in both nectar eating and in catching tiny insects. Mother hummingbirds also lick their chicks after a rainstorm to dry them by licking water droplets from the coats of the chicks to avoid chill.
Animals also use their tongue to enhance their sense of
smell. By licking a surface, molecules on it are transferred via the tongue to the olfactory receptors in the
nose and in the
vomeronasal organ.
Dogs and cats use licking both to clean, and to show affection among themselves or to humans typically licking their faces..
Licking in humans
Compared to most other mammals, licking has a relatively minor role for
humans. The human
tongue (primarily used for speech) is relatively short and inflexible, and isn't well adapted for either grooming or drinking. Instead, humans prefer to wash themselves using their hands and drink by
sucking fluid into their mouth. Humans have much less hair over their skin than most other mammals, and much of that hair is in places which they can't reach with their own mouth. The presence of
sweat glands all over the human body makes licking as a cooling method unnecessary.
Nonetheless, licking does play a role for humans. Even though humans can't effectively drink water by licking, the human tongue is quite sufficient for licking more
viscous fluids. The practice of licking
dishware and
cutlery clean, though often considered uncivilized, is nonetheless quite common. Some foods are sold in a form intended to be consumed mainly by licking, for example an
ice cream cone and a
lollipop.
There are a number of other uses for licking in humans. For example, licking can be used to moisten the
adhesive surfaces of
stamps or
envelopes. A habit of many people is licking a finger to help turning a page, taking a sheet of paper from the top of a pile or opening a plastic bag. This is often considered unhygienic and it's questioned whether there really is any necessity to do so although the people who do it claim that, for example, in certain situations turning a page is difficult and that it goes much easier after licking the top of the finger used to turn that page for some extra grip. In
sewing,
thread ends are commonly wet by licking to make the
fibres stick together and thus make threading them through the eye of a
needle easier. Another practice considered uncivilized is licking one's hand and using it to groom one's hair.
Licking, like other forms of oral contact, can also be an important element of
human sexuality (
see oral sex). In a less sexual way, licking can be part of
physical intimacy, for example with the
French kiss or
necking.
Other primates
- Ring-tailed lemurs use licking as a social function, licking each other's babies within the community.(External Link
)
- Macaques and other primates lick leaves for water in addition to dipping their arms into tree crevices and licking the water off.(External Link)
- Chimpanzees use licking in a variety of ways:
- Gorillas use licking in addition other senses to determine the nature of an object(External Link)
Further Information
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