46 Famous Animals And Their Outstanding Stories

The Pink Panther was originally a… diamond. That’s right, in the original 1963 movie, a clumsy detective was chasing a notorious thief who planned to steal the Pink Panther diamond. In the opening credits, a brightly colored feline went through all sorts of funny shenanigans and became so popular that an entire series of short animation films were made with him as the main character. This led to comics, feature films, and, of course, lots of products. The soundtrack for the Pink Panther has remained unchanged since the original movie and is one of the most recognized movie soundtracks of all time.

It is really impossible for a small Yorkshire terrier to help soldiers during a war, isn’t it? Well, Smoky proved that it isn’t. She belonged to an American corporal who during WWII happened to be under attack on an airfield in the Philippines. They needed to find a way to communicate with other troops, and the only way to run telephone lines was through an underground pipe, which was very dangerous for humans. However, Smoky fit into the pipe perfectly, and with the help of her corporal, she found her way out, carrying the wires attached to her collar with her. Even during daily life on the front, Smoky helped soldiers and hospital patients cheer up and keep going. 

With the help of her handler Francine Patterson, Koko learned to communicate with people using a modified version of American Sign Language. She also cared for her pet kittens, treating them as her own babies. Many people could learn lessons about empathy and finding a common language with those who don’t speak yours from Koko.

Grumpy Cat made her first public appearance in 2012 on Reddit. Not many know that her signature appearance of constantly being displeased with something was the result of feline dwarfism and an underbite. She not only became the main character of thousands of memes and had a huge following on all major social media platforms, but Grumpy Cat also collaborated with SXSW Festival, appeared on morning talk shows, and starred in the movie Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, where she was voiced by Aubrey Plaza. Unfortunately, she passed away in May 2019 at the age of 7.

Lassie is probably one of the most famous TV characters in the world and the reason why so many collies were called Lassie back in the day. You have probably seen the 2005 film or even the 19-season-long TV show that ran from 1954 to 1973, but Lassie has been on screen since the 1940s when she appeared in several movies. However, even that wasn’t her first introduction to the audience. Lassie made an appearance in a short story as far back as 1859, and that’s when her road to fame began.

You might have never seen any of the TV series or movies with the sassy orange cat (voiced by Bill Murray, by the way). You may not even know that he started out in a comic strip. But it is safe to bet that at some point in your life, you owned merch with Garfield’s face on it — because with the amount of that merch around it was just impossible not to. And if the words Monday, lasagna, and Abu Dhabi somehow seem related to each other, Garfield may be responsible for that. 

The snowy beauty was Harry’s true friend and an important ally until the very end. In the movies, Hedwig’s theme was one of the most recognized soundtrack pieces. Her tragic death was a big loss for all fans.

When an outbreak of diphtheria happened in the Alaskan town of Nome in 1925, their only shot at survival was to get medicine from Anchorage, hundreds of miles away. With the severe winter conditions, it could only have been done via dog sleds. The distance was too far for just one sled to cover without stops, so as time was of the essence, a relay of several sleds was employed. The final stretch was led by Balto, who took his team through 54 miles of blizzard in -40°C. They completed their mission successfully, and Balto was named a national hero. Today, you can find his statue in NYC Central Park.   

Can you believe that Scooby Doo is over 50 years old? This Great Dane might not be the best example of courage, but he does love his friends and rides in the Mystery Machine with them in search of sinister mysteries to solve. Sometimes he lucks into a solution thanks to his great appetite or being scared, but at the end of the day, the villain will be punished one way or another.

You can say that Ham paved the road for humans to go to space. The chimp was thoroughly trained for months before he was launched to orbit in 1961. His main mission was to establish whether it was possible to perform different tasks in space. Ham completed his mission with flying colors and returned home safely. 

In 1924, Bobby became a celebrity and was nicknamed Wonder Dog for all the impossible things he did to reunite with his family. A year earlier, Bobbie’s family had traveled from Oregon to Indiana, where Bobbie got lost. His owners tried looking for him but with no result. Six months later, in February 1924, Bobbie showed up on the threshold of his Oregon home, having traveled 2,551 miles across several states in all sorts of weather conditions. His story spread all over the United States, and people would write him fan mail. 

Seabiscuit and his jockey Red Pollard are a great example of how with the right spirit you can overcome all adversities. From the very start, Seabiscuit wasn’t expected to achieve much, but he gradually climbed his way up to the top, where he beat triple-crown winner War Admiral and was voted American Horse of the Year in 1938. At a point in their joint career, both he and Pollard were injured, and not many believed they could participate in another race. Yet, through perseverance and hard training, Seabiscuit and Pollard started walking and later racing again, winning one last race before retirement.

Harambe’s story is a tragic one. The 17-year-old gorilla lived in Cincinnati Zoo, where a 4-year-old boy fell into his enclosure in a 2016 accident. Harambe stood over the boy and then dragged him for 10 minutes before he was shot. This gave rise to public outrage, as many reasoned that tranquilizers could have been used instead of real bullets. Both the zoo and the boy’s parents were criticized for not having proper security boundaries and not attending to their child, leading to his accident.

Laika was found in the streets of Moscow and sent into space by the Soviet Union in 1957. Unfortunately, back then, not much was known about the effects of space on animals, and there was no means to return her back to Earth. According to data revealed in 2002, Laika only lived for about five hours in orbit. She is celebrated as the first living creature to go to space, and there is a statue in her honor in Moscow.

What’s up, Doc? Recognize this voice? Of course you do. Bugs Bunny has been around since the late 1930s, and every generation of kids since has watched his cartoons. Whether he is having fun with his friends or plotting against his archnemesis Elmer Fudd, leave it up to Bugs to come up with the most hilarious shenanigans.

There are two types of people in this world: camp Tom and camp Jerry. And whichever camp you belong to, one thing is for certain: You enjoy their hilarious fights where each of them has been trying to one-up the other since 1940.

Pickles was just an ordinary pup, but in 1966 he solved a high-profile robbery and saved the Football World Cup all at once. That year, the Jules Rimet trophy (which is now referred to as simply the FIFA World Cup trophy) was stolen from Central Hall in London, causing a huge scandal. While police were on the case to no avail, large companies offered rewards for finding the trophy. A week later, Pickles was taking a walk with his owner David Corbett, when he felt something suspicious in the bushes. Corbett followed his dog and saw the stolen trophy, wrapped in newspapers and hidden under a bush. Pickles was awarded a silver medal from the National Canine Defence League and appeared in the 1966 spy movie The Spy with a Cold Nose.   

Betsy the border collie showed unmatched intelligence when she was still a tiny pup. She could understand commands when she was just ten weeks old. Her abilities were thoroughly studied, and the results showed that Betsy learned approximately as fast as a human toddler. Other research shows that within the past 15 years, many dog breeds have become even smarter than before, with Betsy being considered a clear example of dog evolution. 

Back in the day, scientists believed that only humans understood the concept of making and using tools. However, in 1960, Jane Goodall observed a chimpanzee she was working with, named David Greybeard, trying to get termites out of their hill with the help of a grass stalk. Later, David and another fellow chimpanzee were noticed making fishing tools out of twigs. This was a huge breakthrough in science.  

Winnie the Pooh was created by English writer A.A. Milne as a character in bedtime stories for his son Christopher Robin. Even though he can be a little slow sometimes, Pooh is kindhearted and a loyal friend. Along with Piglet and other friends from their forest, Winnie the Pooh has featured in various screen adaptations.

April became an internet sensation in 2017 when her late stages of pregnancy and giving birth were live-streamed on YouTube. Her son Tajiri (hope in Swahili) came into this world accompanied by the cheers of 1.2 million people. 

George Adamson lived and worked in Kenya as a game warden. In 1956, together with his wife Joy, they adopted a lion cub who they called Elsa. For years, they took care of Elsa and taught her how to hunt and live in the wild on her own. When they released her, the Adamsons hoped Elsa would be able to survive, and that is exactly what happened. In 1960, Joy wrote a book, Born Free, describing the experience.  

The loyalty of dogs is something that doesn’t even need explanation, and there are hundreds of stories about their attachment to their owners, but the story of Fido is one of the most touching ones. He was found during World War II by Carlo Soriani, who carried him home and treated his injuries. From that point on, Fido would see him off to work and meet him at the bus stop again in the evening every day. One day, Soriani didn’t come back, as he’d lost his life in the Borgo San Lorenzo bombardment. Fido continued visiting the bus stop every day for the next 14 years, in the hopes of seeing his master again. Eventually, people started recognizing him and learned his story. Fido became very popular in Italy and lived until 1958. 

You may know Punxsutawney Phil as the titular character from the Groundhog Day movie, but did you realize that Punxsutawney townsfolk have been practicing predicting the weather with Phil’s help since the 1800s? Even though he got his name only in 1961, Punxsutawney Phil is a popular attraction for tourists who visit the town annually to see him in action. 

Heidi the opossum was cross-eyed, which made it difficult for her to survive in the wild. She was raised in a North Carolina wildlife sanctuary before being relocated to Odense Zoo in Denmark, and later to Leipzig Zoo in Germany. She became very popular among visitors and even had a YouTube song made in her honor.

World War II was fought not only on land but also at sea. Battleship Bismarck was one of the largest in the German navy. After a relentless battle in May 1941 between the German and British forces, during which several ships got destroyed, Bismarck was sunk with 2,200 soldiers on board; however, Sam, the ship’s cat, somehow survived. The cat was picked up by British HMS Cossack, but later this ship was sunk too. Again, Sam survived the explosion. After that, he changed several ships, with each subsequent one being destroyed and sunk. Each time, Sam managed to survive. 

Don’t be fooled by the animation movies, Puss in Boots is much older and has a much longer history than the movies might suggest. His character originates from an old fairy tale, and although quite a number of details were changed for the animation, Puss in Boots remains as courageous, resourceful, and cunning as ever.

Bambi has virtually become a common name to refer to a deer, especially a young one. Even though this cartoon is very old, it remains one of the all-time favorite classics due to its magnificent execution and the way it deals with the very sensitive topic of losing a parent. It is also one of the earliest examples of creating a protagonist who becomes an orphan at the start of their character growth.

Amusement parks that involve sea creatures in captivity have been under lots of scrutiny for many years due to inadequate living conditions and treatment. When the documentary Blackfish came out in 2013, it told the story of Tilikum, an orca whale who lived in SeaWorld. Even though the park authorities claimed that the film was not very accurate, it did play a role in drastically decreasing the number of visitors to the park by 2016. Unfortunately, Tilikum died the next year at the age of 35, even though orcas can live to become 80 in the wild.

Even if you freak out at the sight of a mouse, there is one representative of the species that makes you smile, and that’s Mickey. In just a few years he is turning a hundred years old, but he hasn’t lost an ounce of popularity since he made his debut in the 1928 Steamboat Willie cartoon that synchronized animation and sound for the first time.

Even if you can’t name any of the Muppets to save your life, there is definitely one you still remember, and that’s Kermit the frog. From the very beginning of the Muppets' history, Kermit has been regarded as their leader, even though they have no official hierarchy. Besides the TV show, Kermit also starred in every spin-off Muppet movie and even appeared in memes.

Shirley Duguay’s murder case came as a real shock to the residents of Prince Edward Island. Many believed that it was Shirley’s estranged husband who took her life, as he had a history of abuse, but there was no evidence for the police to act upon. However, later someone found a bag in the woods. The clothes in the bag were not only bloodstained but also had some white cat hair on them. The victim’s husband had a white cat named Snowball. A DNA test matched the hair found on the clothes with that of Snowball. This was enough evidence to arrest Duguay’s husband. Since this case, pet DNA has often been used to help solve crimes.

This little clownfish and his adventures became everyone’s favorite when it came out in 2003, rightfully turning the movie into a modern classic. Following Nemo and his father’s journey to find each other was not only entertaining but also full of important life lessons.  

Even if you know nothing about biology and biological engineering, you probably have heard the name Dolly the sheep. Born in July 1996 through cloning, Dolly was kept a secret for a year. When her existence was finally announced to the broader community, it sparked quite a lot of controversy, as some considered cloning technology unsafe and unethical, while others saw it as a game changer in the medical field where organs for donation or stem cells from embryos for treatment could be created. Dolly lived for six years and died of a lung disease, which caused speculation as to how viable cloned animals can be.

Homing pigeons were an integral part of communication on the battlefield during World War I. In 1918, when an American battalion was under heavy attack from the German side as well as their own allies who didn’t realize they were not firing at the enemy, one brave pigeon played a huge role in saving their lives. Cher Ami flew 25 miles in 25 minutes, was shot at, blinded, and lost a leg, but never stopped. For her heroic act, she received the French Cross of War.

Beautiful Jim Key and Dr. William Key were celebrities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. William Key, who was a former slave, claimed that he had only used patience to train Beautiful Jim to read, write, spell, tell time, answer the phone, and do other tricks. It is estimated that over 10 million people throughout the United States attended their show. This included President William McKinley who saw the duo at an exposition in Tennessee and was delighted.

One fine day in 1928, Huberta the hippo decided to leave the St. Lucia Estuary and go traveling to the Eastern Cape of South Africa. In case you didn’t know, that’s a 1600 km journey. On her way, Huberta didn’t try to hide from people. She would openly visit towns and farms, and would also attract journalists and just people who wanted to see the wonder hippo on a trip. It was declared illegal to hunt or catch Huberta. After three years on the road, she arrived in East London but was killed by a group of hunters who were later arrested and fined. Her body was returned to South Africa in 1933.

You may call Bruce an animatronic shark and not a real one all you like, but try watching Jaws without freaking out. Even though he made very few actual appearances on screen, Bruce instilled horror in the residents of Amity Island and audiences alike, rightfully remaining one of the most terrifying antagonists since 1975. 

Donald is probably the only duck in the world to have his own national day. Observed on June 9, it marks Donald’s debut on screen in 1934. One of Mickey’s friends, Donald Duck is usually positive toward things that happen around him. He has three nephews — Huey, Louie, and Dewey — an uncle, Scrooge, and a love interest/close friend, Daisy Duck. 

Admit it, you have uttered the phrase “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” to your friends at least once in your life. Toto was Dorothy’s loyal friend and the sole reason why they ended up in the Land of Oz in the first place. He remains one of the most famous dogs in the entertainment industry and has his own memorial in Hollywood.

With all head and very little body, it remains a mystery how Tweety manages to balance in an upright position, let alone fly and get away from his archnemesis Sylvester the cat. His name is a play on the words “tweet” and “sweetie.” Tweety was a recurring star in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, as well as several feature films in later years.

Even though Snoopy made his first appearance in a comic strip in 1950, there are probably very few people today who don’t recognize him immediately. Together with his human friend Charlie Brown, Snoopy went on many adventures, with his comic strip lasting until February 2000.

Hello Kitty comes from Japan, so it is no surprise that besides several TV series, she stars in three anime films. You may not guess it immediately, but in fact, Hello Kitty, who in Japan is known as Kitty White, is a cartoon version of the Japanese bobtail breed. Even if you haven’t seen any of the animations she was in, you have definitely seen tons of very different merchandise with her picture.

Kung Fu Panda, known among his friends and family as Po, is an example of how looks don’t really matter. If you have a dream — like Po, who wanted to become a kung fu warrior — and you do your best to achieve it, there will be no obstacle you can’t overcome.

This preschool pig, along with her family and friends, is an absolute favorite among today’s kids. Peppa is energetic and loves learning new things. This leads to many adventures, interesting activities, and lots and lots of laughter.

If you’re wondering why a sponge is included on a list of animals, let it be known that sponges are actual living organisms that live under the sea. As for SpongeBob, we could all agree that he is the most famous dweller of Bikini Bottom. Even if you find him annoying at times, you can’t remain indifferent to his enthusiastic approach to life and the way he always looks on the bright side of things.