Curious about how many animals share a lot of human traits? You will be amazed.
There should be no surprise that monkeys are by far the closest living relatives of humans, but the pleasant surprise is that there are a lot more other adorable animals that share a lot of human traits. Isn’t that wonderful? My bets are full on cats because, according to various studies, cats do share around 90% of human genes. If you own one, deep down, you probably know these reports are accurate.
However, you will be surprised to see a lot more critters from the animal kingdom that proudly share human habits. Enough with chit-chat; let’s embark on the most adventurous journey around the wild world.
1. Elephants
You probably never thought about the possibility that elephants can share some traits similar to ours. But the moment of truth has arrived: they share a deep sense of empathy. Elephants are incredibly attached to their family members and have a deep sense of family. As a result, they will comfort anxious herd members by softly rumbling and gently touching their trunks. Their funeral rites for departed family members are moving and resemble our rituals of loss and mourning.
Their capacity for successful connection is the second quality that resembles ours. Despite not having a language like humans, they communicate complex ideas with their herds through a highly developed system of sounds and physical signals.
As with humans, female elephants develop a huge connection with their children and do anything to protect them.
2. Lemurs
Another animal that shares human traits is the lemur. If you didn’t know, lemurs and humans are both primates; they descended from the same progenitors as lorises and aye-ayes. As with humans, lemurs are intelligent and have the ability to learn patterns.
Unfortunately, these little buddies are sadly part of the endangered animal species, and one of the main causes of their extinction is human activity.
3. Octopuses
Of all the animals, you probably never thought that octopuses could share a lot of human traits. However, according to various studies that were conducted on their brains, octopuses share the same human-like behavior and top-notch intelligence.
As with elephants, octopuses are very good problem solvers! When given tasks to solve, octopuses exhibit amazing inventiveness by manipulating items with their flexible arms. I bet they could solve a puzzle too!
One of the best human traits that octopuses possess is playfulness. Sprinkling water at things or one another, for example, is among the playful actions that octopuses have been seen doing, apparently for fun. They’re also curious by nature, ready to explore and discover new things all the time.
This playful behavior suggests complex emotions similar to our ones, which are beyond simple survival instincts. Furthermore, octopuses are also territorial, which is a human characteristic that develops in various social contexts.
4. Ants
What? Are you being serious? Yes, totally! Ants resemble so many human traits you won’t believe. The first and most fascinating one is their social organization. Ant colonies resemble tightly connected cultures in which each individual is assigned a specific duty. Much like a corporation, right? Ants take care of activities like hunting, tending to the young, and protecting the colony, while the queen ant’s main responsibility is reproduction.
If Nobel prizes were given to insects, ants should be getting one because, even if they’re small compared to other animals, they excel in the art of communication. Since they can’t really talk like we do, they use pheromones to communicate with each other.
To direct their fellow ants toward food sources, they create smell trails. Through this procedure, which uses a more archaic language, they can communicate important information that only they can comprehend.
Last but not least of the human traits ants share is being absolutely selfless. Yes, you’ve heard that right! This is probably one of the best human traits that we can be proud of, especially if we can still find it in our hearts during these times we’re living.
5. Dogs
Deep down, I know all your bets were on dogs, and I honestly don’t blame you. Dogs, which are sometimes called “man’s best friend,” have an amazing range of behaviors that are very comparable to those of ours. We are frequently amazed and fascinated by their remarkable capacity to show empathy, affection, and, most importantly, social intelligence.
Similar to humans, dogs can show excitement, jealousy, and sadness. Like people, dogs are capable of developing lifelong, intense ties to both other animals and those who care for them. Empathy is probably one of the best human traits that we can find in dogs, too.
They can feel when something is wrong with you, and even if they can’t talk, they show you affection by snuggling near you, jumping, and being excited to see you back at home after a long day. It is amazing to see how great their ability to read your emotions is, and even more fascinating is to see how they respond to them.
6. Apes
There should be no surprise that most of the apes share the most human traits among the entire animal kingdom. One of their first human traits is communication. They communicate emotions, intents, and wants through complex movements, vocalizations, and facial expressions, much like people do. Like humans, they create elaborate social systems, practice social bonding through grooming, and even show empathy and compassion for one another.
Besides having excellent social skills, apes are also very skilled at using tools. Great apes use tools to obtain food, solve problems, and even transform their living conditions. One interesting aspect about apes is that they also pass on their traditions from one generation to the next. Just like us, isn’t it?
7. Ravens
One of the most enigmatic and mysterious birds in the world are ravens, and, surprisingly enough, they share a lot of human traits. As with apes, ants, and other animals we’ve mentioned above, ravens also possess extraordinary social skills.
Ravens have a reputation for forming enduring relationships and even playing games with their spouses and young, which highlights the importance of strong family ties. Are ravens able to communicate as well as human beings? Well, of course, without any words, and apparently without any vocalizations or specific sounds.
They have a diverse range of calls that they can use to convey specific messages and warnings. According to studies, they are capable of communicating about past events, an intellectual capacity that is often attributed to humans. I don’t know about you, but I would love to “talk” to a raven, but probably they’ll be way beyond human intelligence, so I will end up being mocked or something!
Furthermore, as we try to save money and other stuff for the future, apparently ravens do the same. You know, the golden years ahead will catch us up. That’s amazing!
Same as humans, animals also fall in love, grieve their lost ones, or even become territorial. These are all human traits and believe it or not many other animals share them and we might have missed to mention in the article. If you’re interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the animal kingdom, the book Not So Different: Finding Human Nature in Animals can be a helpful resource. It’s available on Amazon for just $15.30 for the Kindle edition.
You may also like reading about the Top 14 Amazing But EXTREME Animals You Won’t Believe Are Real.
