‘Not My Animal’: 40 Animal Pics That Just Don’t Make Any Sense, As Shared On This Instagram Account

It's no secret that many people have an affinity for animals. How can anyone resist a warm, fluffy puppy begging you through its large, round eyes to pick it up? Or a tiny, curious kitten in need of playtime who begins pawing at the loose strings hanging off your jeans? Our love for animals dates back far before we were able to create Instagram accounts for our cherished pets. In fact, there is "archaeological evidence [that] dogs were the first animals domesticated by humans more than 30,000 years ago", Boehringer Ingelheim tells us. Man's best friend was even domesticated over 10,000 years before horses, sheep and cows. 

Back then, the human-dog relationship was already mutually beneficial, just in a slightly different way than today. After wolves began scavenging food scraps from people, the idea was born to provide them with shelter and protection in order to domesticate them. In turn, the wolves started helping people hunt for food, and over time, they evolved into the dogs we know and love today. But these ancient dogs were not only used for practical reasons. Skeletons of dogs have been discovered buried alongside human companions dating back over 14,000 years. Even then, there was a strong enough emotional connection for people to honor their beloved pets in life and death.    

There's no question that many people love animals. Just ask any pet owner to show you a photo of their non-human child and they'll begin gushing and scrolling through their camera roll like a first-time parent would with pictures of their infant. What only some pet lovers dare to wonder is whether or not their animals love them back. In terms of the emotional depth of animals, scientists are constantly making new discoveries. “Non-human animals are amazing beings. Daily we’re learning more and more about their fascinating cognitive abilities, emotional capacities and moral lives," says Dr. Marc Bekoff, a biologist, ecologist and author. "We know that fish are conscious and sentient, rats, mice and chickens display empathy and feel not only their own pain but also that of other individuals.”

One example of elephants displaying empathy comes from Lawrence Anthony, conservationist and author of “The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild". In his book, Anthony described learning how to communicate with elephants after observing how they communicate with one another. After Anthony's sudden death in 2012, his son remarked that the elephant herd began visiting their home every night, seemingly to pay their respects. Elephants have been observed grieving losses of their own many times before, but showing sadness for the loss of a human was a new development.