Conducted in six countries (South Africa, France, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom), the study revealed that, locally, 72% of South African families laugh at least once a day because of something their pet does, citing that kissing, licking or chasing someone or something, hiding and jumping out at someone, and human-like behaviour as some of the most common causes of laughter.

The 'Boomerang Mini Zoo' competition, an interactive mobile zoo school experience, had winners singing, dancing, and interacting with some of Boomerang’s related animal family, under the supervision of an animal specialist, immersing them deeper into the African animal kingdom.

To accompany this real life Boomerang experience, a series of 'edutainment' tutorials were broadcast on-air, along with an array of facts about animals and animal-related activities as well as games on Boomerang Africa’s website.

Claire Voges, social worker and animal-assisted practitioner at Pawz and Play, says, "The benefits of interacting with a companion animal, especially a dog, have been well researched. What is fascinating is that the health benefits are reciprocal – both the dog and the human, after interacting, have increased levels of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin.

She adds, "These are the happy chemicals that are released in the brain. Canine-assisted therapy is proving to be a very effective intervention with children and adolescents, as the integration of the therapy dog enriches the therapeutic process and paves the way for trust to be built. I am discovering, daily, the power of harnessing the human animal bond in the work that I do in this exciting and emerging field."

The Safari Comedy Show launched on Monday, 17 July and is a series of locally produced shorts and is one of Boomerang’s first local productions to make use of familiar, locally relevant talent to voice over clips of some of Africa’s animals.

South Africa’s female comedian and radio personality, Tumi Morake, and Kenyan comedian, Eric Omundi, have teamed up with Boomerang to launch the new series that promises to have audiences across Africa fully engaged.

Jaime Ondarza, senior vice president of southern Europe and Africa, adds, "This study is a sweet little reminder that it’s the small things that can really bring families together through laughter and happiness. We are really proud to say that we are the TV incarnation of just that – a channel where families can sit together, smile, laugh, and learn while having fun."

Ondarza concludes, "At Boomerang, we constantly strive to reinforce the love that families have with our characters (and their cousins) on and off screen. 2017 has been a great year so far. With our animal pet focus approach, we have successfully rolled out our nation-wide 'Boomerang Mini Mobile Zoo' activation, followed by the channels unique, and locally produced, series of shorts using Tumi Morake and Eric Omundi as the main animal voices behind The Safari Comedy Show."

For more information, visit www.boomeranghq.net. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook.