50 Animals Who Woke Up And Chose Nonsense

It’s no secret that there’s never a dull moment whenever animals are involved. Even though they might not speak our language, they clearly show what they want and let their personality shine through with their behavior. And needless to say, it can get pretty goofy.

The silliness is not limited to certain species only. Any animal, from horses to cats, and birds, even, can act like total goofballs. (And if the pictures on this list are not proof enough, just look at Hayden Kristal’s videos from her farm.)

It’s safe to assume that owners of cats and dogs have seen their critters engage in silly behavior countless times; some of it may have even been caught on camera. And even though they seem to enjoy being foolish, we know for a fact that they can be really smart… when they want to.

But what about other species? Clearly, wild animals or birds enjoy being goofy, too, (which has likely inspired more than one animated movie), but what else is known about their behavior?

Well, today, we wanted to learn more about a species that is viewed as goofy by some, but is, in fact, very intelligent. And that’s pigeons!

Some people don’t think that there’s much happening behind the eyes of pigeons, some of the most professional photobombers out there. However, they are actually very intelligent. A study from a couple years ago found that these birds’ problem-solving abilities match artificial intelligence. In addition to that, they are also great navigators with an incredible sense of homing – finding their way home.

We wanted to learn more about them, so we got in touch with research scientist and conservation biologist Dr. Barbara Frei, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions, starting with, how did pigeons end up living in cities?

“Pigeons—also known as rock doves in some areas—are originally native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia, but have now become established in cities around the world through people bringing them there – either on purpose or by accident,” the expert said.

“People have domesticated pigeons and bred them for thousands of years, using them as a source of food or even for transmitting messages due to their incredible sense of homing that allows them to travel over a thousand kilometers at high speeds (>100 km/hr) at short distances. Their natural habitats include rocky cliffs, caves and other open, sparsely vegetated areas. This is why they have adapted to use cities as a novel, or new, habitat.”