Weird Ways in Which the Animal Kingdom and Humans Are Very Similar

We like to think we’re special. Humans are the most intelligent species on Earth, we build cities, create art, and have advanced language. But if you look closer, the animal kingdom isn’t as different from us as we might believe. In fact, some animals display behaviors eerily similar to our own—whether it’s emotions, problem-solving, or even just social drama.

Here are some of the weirdest ways we and our animal relatives are more alike than we might think.

1. Animals Feel and Express Emotions Like We Do

Think only humans feel love, jealousy, or grief? Think again.

✔ Elephants Mourn Their Dead – Elephants have funerals. No joke. When a member of their herd dies, they gather around, touch the body with their trunks, and sometimes stay with it for hours or even days. Some have been observed returning to the site of a loved one’s death years later. That’s deep emotional attachment.

✔ Dogs Get Jealous – If you’ve ever pet another dog in front of your own, you’ve seen jealousy in action. A study found that dogs exhibit jealous behavior when their owners give attention to another dog—even nudging their owners or trying to get in between them.

✔ Orcas Have Close-Knit Families – Killer whales (orcas) have incredibly strong family bonds. Some orca sons stay with their moms for their entire lives, depending on them for survival and support, much like humans do in tightly connected families.

2. Some Animals Gossip and Hold Grudges

If you thought only humans were petty, think again.

✔ Meerkats Warn Each Other About “Bad” Individuals – Meerkats live in groups and are constantly communicating. Studies show they share information about members who don’t pull their weight or betray the group—kind of like workplace gossip.

✔ Ravens Remember Who Betrayed Them – Ravens are ridiculously smart, and they hold grudges. If another raven tricks them or steals food, they’ll remember and refuse to cooperate with that bird again in the future. Sound familiar?

✔ Dolphins Have Social Circles (and Even Nicknames) – Dolphins recognize each other by unique whistle sounds—essentially, names. They also form cliques, excluding some members and favoring others, just like human social groups.

3. Animals Work Together (and Cheat the System)

We like to think we’re the only ones who work in teams, but animals have been doing it long before us.

✔ Ants Have Organized Societies – Ant colonies function like highly efficient cities. They have workers, soldiers, and even designated trash collectors to keep the nest clean.

✔ Chimpanzees Can Be Political – Chimps have power struggles just like human leaders. A dominant chimp maintains power not just by strength but by forming alliances. When an underdog rises, former allies can switch sides, leading to chimp “elections” of sorts.

✔ Some Animals Cheat – Male cuttlefish sometimes pretend to be female to sneak past rivals and mate with a female unnoticed. That’s basically the animal kingdom version of deception for personal gain.

4. Animals Have Personalities

Not all animals of the same species act alike—just like humans, they have individual temperaments.

✔ Octopuses Can Be Shy or Bold – Some octopuses are curious and playful, while others are reserved and prefer to hide. Scientists studying them have noticed distinct personalities.

✔ Cats Are Introverts and Extroverts – Some cats love people, some avoid them at all costs. They also have unique habits—some like belly rubs, while others will claw you for trying.

✔ Horses Have Different Love Languages – Some horses love being touched and groomed, while others prefer distance but still form strong bonds with their owners.

5. Animals Use Tools Like We Do

Tool use used to be a defining trait of humans—until we realized animals have been doing it all along.

✔ Crows Make Tools to Solve Problems – Crows have been seen bending wires into hooks to pull food out of containers. That’s straight-up problem-solving and invention.

✔ Sea Otters Use Rocks to Open Shells – They carry their favorite rock in a pouch under their arm and use it like a hammer to crack open clams.

✔ Chimpanzees Use Sticks to Fish for Termites – They poke sticks into termite mounds, wait for the termites to latch on, and then pull them out to eat. Basically, it’s a chimp fishing rod.

Final Thoughts

The more we study animals, the more we realize that we’re not as unique as we think. They love, mourn, gossip, deceive, use tools, and even strategize in ways that are shockingly similar to us. The biggest difference? They don’t overcomplicate things the way we do.

Maybe the real lesson here is that while we think of ourselves as separate from nature, we’re really just another species in the animal kingdom—one with smartphones, coffee addictions, and a tendency to overthink everything.