We’re All Collectively Crying At These Sad Animal Facts
We're used to learning about all the cool and crazy things that animals do, but we never stop to think about the sad animal facts. Animals have proven that they have a wide emotional range and face many of the more serious issues that we do.
We're so busy talking about fascinating facts like how cows can smell things up to six miles away that we never stop to wonder if they listen to sad music to feel emotion. These sad facts hit a little too close to home, but we feel better now that we know.
Zebras Can't Sleep Alone
This began as an evolutionary thing that turned into much more. Zebras sleep standing up to be on the lookout for predators, but they also sleep in packs to relieve stress and anxiety.
So zebras are like the girl who just got dumped and can't fall asleep without wearing a sweater that smells like her ex.
Cats Like Companionship More Than Food
You might think cats are heartless and cold, but studies have proven that cats value your companionship more than they value food. Let that sink in.
But don't let it sink in for too long. Studies have also shown that cats can recognize their owner's face, voice, and even know their own name, but they just don't care.
Mice Can Feel The Sadness Of Other Mice
Tests have shown that mice are capable of feeling complex emotions, and can even sense when their fellow mice are feeling sad, pain, or suffering.
All snake owners should keep this in mind when they feed their snake live mice. Those other little mice in there can feel its pain.
Seagulls Are More Of A Wreck Than You Are
We all know that seagulls are the worst bird on the entire planet and that their lives revolve around harassing tourists, so it's unsurprising that a group of seagulls is called a wreck.
They ruin the lives of innocent people all around them, and they know it. Seagulls take pride in their name and live up to it every day.
Giraffes Learn Quickly That Life Is Unfair
The world is cruel, and giraffes learn this lesson early on. A baby giraffe enters the world by a six-foot drop, quickly grasping that life is unfair. Malcolm in the Middle would be so proud.
The six-foot drop is probably just payback for the 13- to 15-month gestation period that the mother has to go through.
Cows Love R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts"
Scientists spent years trying to find out if music made cows produce more milk, and the results show that when cows listen to R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts," the milk (and the tears) are free-flowing.
The bright side is that a cow's second-favorite song is Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." When cows have tears in their eyes from R.E.M., Simon and Garfunkel will dry their eyes.
Monkeys Lose More Friends The Older They Get
Studies have shown that as monkeys age, they become less social and lose many of their friends. If that isn't enough, scientists have also observed gorillas gaining grey hair as they age.
We knew that primates are our closest relatives, but who knew that they aged as miserably as we did. Bring on the primate mid-life crisis.
Hamsters Can't Eat Guacamole And That's Tragic
This may not seem like a sad fact, but let's be honest, anyone or anything that can't eat guacamole is missing out. Most animals shouldn't eat guacamole, but with hamsters, it's a lot worse.
Avocado can be toxic to hamsters, and the soft texture is unsafe to eat because it can get stuck in their cheeks and teeth. They're better off eating the tortilla chips.
Sugar Is The Only Thing That Destresses Bees
It isn't easy bee-ing the insect that single-handedly keeps our ecosystem working, pollinates flowers, and makes delicious honey. The life of a bee is stressful, and like many of us do, bees eat their stress away. Sugar is their primary source of energy and will revitalize them after a long workday.
It's almost the same as when you get home on a Friday night and eat a full bag of Skittles.
Conures Pull Out Their Feathers When They Are Bored
A conure suffers from the same symptoms of boredom and desire for attention that we humans do. When the bird is bored or feels unwanted, it will pluck out its feathers one by one until they are noticed, or become distracted.
Plucking their feathers is a cry for help, and these poor birds aren't getting the attention they need. We want justice for conures!
Male Foxes Will Never Mate Again If The Female Dies
Foxes are often mates for life, and that should make us happy, but the females ruin it. If a female mate dies, the male will never mate again and live out the rest of their lonely lives. Female foxes are heartless and will move onto a new mate almost immediately after the male dies.
We all know the animal kingdom is savage when it comes to love, but female foxes take it that one extra step.
Birds Hate The Way They Look
Everyone has some self-confidence issues, but birds are way too hard on themselves and take this dislike out by attacking themselves. Science has shown that when bird run into windows, its because they want to injure themselves.
This makes me feel sorry for all the times I laughed at a bird flying into a window. The bird is just dealing with body issues
Horses Sweat Literal Buckets
Horses can sweat enough to fill up a one-gallon bucket in a single hour. That can't possibly just be from heat or exhaustion.
There has to be some anxiety or nervousness mixed in with that because only teenage boys asking out the most popular girl in school can sweat like that.
Dogs Watch TV To Spend Time With Their Owners
Dogs really don't care about watching TV, but they do it so they can spend more time with their owners. This explains why my dog barks whenever he sees a dog on TV, he just doesn't want to share me with anyone else.
If dogs weren't loving enough already, this just puts them over the edge. We truly don't deserve dogs.
These Beetles Only Go Above Ground To Die
The Salt Creek Tiger Beetle will only venture outside once in its life and that is when it's ready to die. It must figure that after those years underground, it should make the big trip above ground to see what all the hype is about.
The saddest part is they probably get up there and feel how warm the sun is, then die knowing they wasted their life away.
Ducklings Rarely Imprint To Their Own Mother
It's so easy for little ducklings to bond to human owners because whoever is there 10 minutes after they are born and can open their eyes will become their imprinted mothers.
This fact is adorable until you stop to realize they are imprinting onto random animals and will never know their actual mother.
Roadrunners Cry... A Lot
Biologically, the roadrunner cries to get excess sodium out of their body, but in our minds, they're crying because the media represents them unfairly.
For years, the Roadrunner has been perceived as happy-go-lucky when it's outrunning Wile E. Coyote, but no one has stopped to ask the Roadrunner if being constantly hunted takes an emotional toll.
Rhinos Wail When They Get Lost
When baby rhinos are scared, they are taught to let out a "wonk" which is just a high-pitched scream. This happens most often when a rhino gets separated from the pack and can't find their mothers.
It sounds almost as sad and embarrassing as when a kid gets lost in the grocery store and security has to page their parents over the intercom.
Meerkats Look As Exhausted As A College Student In Exam Time
Meerkats have dark circles around their eyes to prove just how tired they are. In reality, the fur underneath their eyes is a way to deflect sun rays to see better.
It makes sense because they have some pretty busy days. Between sleeping and sunbathing who knows if they get their full eight hours of shut-eye.
Bats Have Long-Distance Relationships
Long-distance relationships never work, but humans are dumb enough to keep trying. At least we're not the only dumb ones, because bats experience the same troubles with love as we do.
Some people have said that long-distance relationships can strengthen a bond. Hopefully, those love-struck make time to see each other and communicate effectively.
The Desert Jerboa Loves Dry Shampoo
VCG / Contributor
Desert jerboas are cute and are just as worried about their fur looking greasy as we are. Desert jerboas will actually roll around in the dirt to fight grease.
We think they’re brilliant and that their fur looks great.
Puffins Are The Clowns Of The Sea
No one likes to be called names but sometimes that's just part of life. Puffins, in all their cuteness, are often called the clowns of the sea.
Maybe they just want to be taken seriously.
Hamsters Wheels Can Cause Back Problems
Hamsters have made it to our list twice now meaning their lives are cute but also very sad. In addition to not being able to enjoy guacamole, they also deal with spinal problems.
Researchers have found that hamster wheels are often too small for them. This causes back problems and arthritis. Ow.
Elephants Can't Jump
Alright, when you think about it, it makes complete sense that elephants came jump. I mean, certain elephants can weigh more than 13,000 pounds. But still, it's sad just knowing that a sweet elephant can't do something because we want them to believe in themselves.
While elephants can't jump, fortunately, it's okay. Most animals that do jump do so because they need to get away from predators. Elephants keep themselves safe in other ways!
Crows Never Forget A Face
Forgetting your dumb ex's face can be hard. Well, crows have it even worse. Researchers in Seattle performed an experiment to test whether crows can recognize human faces. Turns out, they can...and they're really good at it.
While wearing specific masks, the researchers captured seven crows around their college campus, tagged them, and let them go. When the researchers walked around campus while wearing the masks, the tagged crows would drive-bomb towards them. Crows just want to forget.
Japanese Snow Monkeys Just Want To Relax
We all need a little rest and relaxation every now and then. The same goes for Japanese Snow Monkeys. A new study found that these cute little dudes hang out in hot springs not just to keep warm but to relax.
Scientists even found that soaking in the hot springs lowers levels of a metabolite that’s associated with stress. Snow monkeys know a thing about self-care.
Bees Are Actually Mostly Solitary
When I think of bees I think of cute little, animated insects who spend their days smiling and making delicious honey. In reality, there are 267 species of bees and about 90 percent of them aren’t social and don’t even live in colonies.
The Bee Movie is a lie.
Lice Can’t Live Without You
Anyone who has had lice knows how bad it is. You have to painstakingly comb through your hair with that gross shampoo, wash everything you’ve ever come in contact with, and Mom is even madder than usual.
But, for just one second, stop and think about how lice can’t live for more than 24 hours without human blood. They need you. And you hate them. And that’s sad.
Giant Panda's Will Sleep Anywhere Because They Are Pure And Not Picky
Look at this giant panda asleep in this tree. We should all be more like giant pandas. These big cuties will sleep anywhere. Literally...anywhere. Meanwhile, humans spend hours researching which $2,000 mattress they should buy,
Ok, that's not exactly bad considering we spend so much of our lives sleeping. Still, be more like a giant panda.
Squirrels Have Terrible Memories
This might be a reason why squirrels harvest so many nuts. The tiny creature goes through a lifetime constantly plating thousands of trees because they forget where they hid their nuts.
Maybe they don't have a high enough brain function to remember but this is also a cute fact. It's only sad because they've lost so many precious nuts.
The Arctic Fox Has An IceBox For A Heart
Arctic Foxes have to embrace the cold no matter what. When it becomes cold outside, a natural defense mechanism is to shiver. An Arctic Fox doesn't have that privilege.
They don't shiver until the temperature reaches -70 degrees Celsius. For it to have to be that cold before the fox tries to warm itself must be terrible. We want to cuddle them.
Dik-Dik Mark Their Territory With Tears
ZooBorns / Barcoft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images
This might be one of the saddest facts yet. Some of you might not have heard of this animal but they are related to deer. And what they do to mark their territory is the sad part.
Dik-Diks set their territory with their tears. To be able to bring up that kind of emotion is hard to do. These animals must go through a lot.
Blue Shark’s Bite Each Other When They're In Love
Love is pain amirite? Well if you are a shark in love then you better watch out. Things get a little testy when a shark wants to show that he or she cares.
Blue sharks bite each other to show that they like another shark, proving that love hurts.
Pudu Deer Never Fear
A pudu is the world's smallest deer. Imagine that, deer are already small and fragile so this fact makes you empathize more with the gentle creatures.
Pudu is so small that the Great Horned Owl is one of their predators. When an owl is something that can eat you then you had better be fast.
Drink Up, Moth
This fact is gross and sad. Some moths indulge in the tears of sleeping birds.
Why birds are crying when they sleep is something we won’t discuss but for a moth to enjoy this flavor is sad.
Chickens Can Be Scared To Death
VCG/VCG via Getty Images
The saying is true. If someone calls you a chicken you better take offense next time. Chickens are one scared group of animals.
If you didn’t know already, chickens can be startled to death. One false scare and say goodbye to the pet and hello to dinner. Just make sure you cook it thoroughly.
The Life Of A Female Cheetah
Female cheetahs are fast and strong. The feline does something that human females do out of necessity or want.
That’s right, a female cheetah elects to live alone. One would think that having a partner might slow them down but who are we to judge their decisions.
The Truth About Squirrels
If you’ve ever had the chance to examine a squirrel in close proximity then you might have noticed something. A squirrel is constantly doing this one thing.
They need to always chew because their teeth never cease growing. Next you wonder why a squirrel looks like it's eating it might not be.
Sand Tiger Shark Battle[caption caption="FUVAHMULAH, MALDIVES - FEBRUARY 2018: Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) swim over coral reef on February 2018 in Fuvahmulah, Maldives.
PHOTOGRAPH BY Andrey Nekrasov / Barcroft Images (Photo credit should read � Andrey Nekrasov / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)" align="alignnone" id="attachment_128071" width="1024"][/caption]
When you’re in the womb with another shark, know that it is time for battle. This is true in Sand Tiger Sharks because they eat each other in the womb.
They do this until there is only one left. So much for having a brother or sister roaming the deep seas with you.
The Odds Are Stacked For Bunnies
All bunny owners, prepare yourself. The cute and adorable creatures are not living up to their potential.
The fact is, only one in seven bunnies lives to become an adult. That's a harsh statistic. It makes you appreciate Bugs Bunny more after seeing the different ways he could have died.
