Humanshavealwaysbeenfascinatedbytheanimalsthatshareourplanet.Frommajesticelephantstotinyinsects,thereissomuchdiversityintheanimalkingdom.Buthaveyoueverstoppedtothinkthatwearenotsodifferentfromthesecreatures?Infact,wehumansarejustanotherspeciesofanimal.Wemayhaveevolveddifferentlyandhavemorecomplexbrains,butwestillsharemanysimilaritieswiththeothercreaturesonEarth.Herearejustafewwaysinwhichwearewildcreaturestoo.
MatingHabits
Oneofthemostbasicinstinctsinanyanimalistheurgetomate.Inthehumanworld,weoftengotogreatlengthstofindtheperfectmate,whetherthatmeansswipingleftorrightonadatingapporspendingyearsinacommittedrelationship.Butotheranimalshavetheirownuniquewaysoffindingamate.Forexample,malepeacocksflaunttheircolorfulfeatherstogettheattentionofafemale,whilemalebirds-of-paradiseperformelaboratedances.Andlet'snotforgetabouttheseacreaturesthatchangetheircolorstoattractamateortheinsectsthatemitpheromonestosignaltheiravailability.Sowhilewehumansmayhavemorecomplexsocialstructuresaroundmating,thedesiretofindapartnerissomethingwesharewiththeanimalkingdom.
SurvivalInstincts
Anotherkeysimilaritybetweenhumansandanimalsisourinstincttosurvive.Justlikeanimalsinthewild,wehaveevolvedoverthousandsofyearstobeabletorespondquicklytodanger.Ourfightorflightresponsekicksinwhenwesenseathreat,whetherthat'sapredatorchasingusoracarracingtowardsusonthestreet.Wealsohavestrongprotectiveinstinctswhenitcomestoouroffspring,justlikemanyanimals.Wewilldowhateverittakestokeepourchildrensafe,evenifitmeansputtingourownlivesatrisk.Sowhilewemaynothavetoforageforfoodorrunfrompredatorsonadailybasislikemanyanimalsdo,oursurvivalinstinctsarestillverymuchapartofwhoweare.
Emotions
Finally,humanssharemanyemotionswithourfellowanimals.Fromjoytosorrow,lovetoanger,weexperienceawiderangeoffeelingsjustliketheothercreaturesonEarth.Elephantsareknowntoshowcompassionandgrief,whiledogscansensewhentheirownersareupsetandwilltrytocomfortthem.Chimpanzeeshavebeenobservedlaughingandplaying,justlikehumanchildren.Andwhilesomeanimalsmaynotexpressemotionsinthesamewaywedo,theystillhavethecapacitytofeelpain,happiness,andsadness.Soeventhoughwemayhavemoreadvancedwaysofcommunicatingouremotions,thefactthatwesharethemwiththeanimalkingdomisareminderthatweareallconnectedinsomeway.
Sothereyouhaveit-threewaysinwhichwearewildcreaturestoo.Despiteallofourmoderntechnologyandcomplexsocialstructures,wearestillanimalsatourcore.Andperhapsrecognizingthisfactcanhelpustobetterconnectwiththeothercreaturesthatshareourplanet.Afterall,weareallinthistogether.
