We may think that we as people are significantly different from animals, but as time goes on, we are learning more ways that we are similar to the creatures around us. Here are nine animals that have what were once distinctly human traits.
9Personality Traits of Chimpanzees
This one is controversial, even in the scientific community: researchers in the UK have asserted that the personality traits of humans overlap with those of chimpanzees.
In 2012 researchers argued that chimpanzees exhibit many traits used to define humans. It may be connected to genetic similarities, but opposing arguments point out how we as humans tend to project ourselves onto the outside world.
8The reasoning of the Crows
Crows have keen vision and memories. When these two things combine, crows have tremendous reasoning skills. C just by watching them—no need for training—and can remember the “how-to” for a long time.
7Comfort Eating Cats and Dogs
We personally love big fat cats, but those extra pounds could be indicative of your pet experiencing emotional problems. According to vets, cats and dogs comfort eat like humans do, out of boredom, anxiety, depression, or other familiar factors we experience ourselves.
If you think it’s an easy fix, think again: vets also find that cats and dogs put on a diet to curb the problem experience even worse symptoms.
6Read the Face of a Mouse
It’s no secret that mice are used for medical experimentation. This is because they have quite a lot in common with humans from a biological standpoint. But another area in which we overlap is facial expressions.
Researchers have noticed that mice use facial expressions to show varying levels of pain, so much so that they’ve developed a pain scale to illustrate this.
5The Anxiety of Crayfish
When we compare ourselves to animals, we usually look at vertebrates for similarities. But crayfish experience anxiety much like we do despite being invertebrates.
That isn’t to say that other animals don’t experience anxiety (they do—it’s key to survival) but crayfish are the first invertebrates to experience the reaction the way we do, suggesting that crustaceans may feel pain.
4Language is For The Birds
The Japanese songbird Parus minor uses a variety of notes to call for others nearby. This itself isn’t unique and falls into line with how most people think animal communication works. But what this bird revealed may change that perception: these birds combine notes to change their meaning.
Researchers discovered this by recording the notes and playing them back for birds. What they discovered is that they consistently reacted the same way to the same notes.
3Episodic Memory of Dogs
Episodic memory—the type of memory humans possess—refers to how we can recall things that have happened without having to encode them to memory specifically.
In other words, we can recall things without actively committing it to memory. Dogs exhibit this kind of memory as well, lending credence to the idea that it’s not merely an evolutionary quirk experienced in primates.
2The Sadness of Elephants
Elephants tend to be the benchmark for animals with complex intellect and emotions. But did you know that elephants enter a period of mourning when a member of their family dies? It’s true!
The mourning period lasts for several days, and in some instances, elephants have been known to cover the deceased with dirt.
1Society Of Cows
Despite being herd animals, cows develop intricate social structures among themselves, which in turn affects their behavior.
Researchers discovered that a cow would choose to sleep next to another cow that it is most familiar with, exhibiting a sort of friendship. Cows at the top of the hierarchy are seen as leaders by other members of the herd and take precedence.
