Licking

The tongues of many mammals have a rough upper surface that acts like a brush when the animal licks its fur.

[3] Mammals typically lick their offspring clean immediately after birth; in many species this is necessary to free the newborn from the amniotic sac.

In some mammals, the tongue is used to "lick" the air during the flehmen response to assist transfer of pheremones.

They smell by using their forked tongues to collect airborne particles, then passing them to the vomeronasal organ.

They keep their tongues constantly in motion, sampling particles from the air, ground, and water, analyzing the chemicals found, and determining the presence of prey or predators in the local environment.

Cats do not sweat the way humans do and the saliva deposited by licking provides a similar means of evaporative cooling.

[20][21] Ring-tailed lemurs lick each other's babies as a means of collective grooming and of reinforcing social cohesion within the community.

The presence of sweat glands all over the human body makes licking as a cooling method unnecessary.

Some foods are sold in a form intended to be consumed mainly by licking, e.g. ice cream cones and lollipops.

Some people in the Afar tribe of Ethiopia have been reported to have used their tongues to lick other humans, as a way of cleaning them from the dust that accumulates on them in a very water-scarce region.

Many people lick a fingertip (usually the one of the index finger) for some extra grip when turning a page, taking a sheet of paper from the top of a pile or opening a plastic bag.

One theory is that excessive licking causes endorphin release, which reduces pain and makes the dog feel temporarily euphoric.