People often interpret animal behaviors as one thing when in fact it’s something different. But in this case, frolicking is indeed frolicking.

It turns out “cows love a change of scenery. And a switch from the concrete floors of the indoors to a soft green pasture would surely help break a bovine’s winter blues.

In fact, cows are suckers for novelty, adds de Passille’s colleague, . They get an extra spring or leap in their step “whenever something new or unexpected happens,” he says – say, changing their bedding or letting them out or back in. “We think it’s a sign that things are well with them.”

more via The Secret Lives Of Cows: Jumping For Joy : The Salt : NPR.