• Question: do animals have emotions

    Asked by easy520tuft on 12 Mar 2025.
    • Photo: Rachael Eggleston

      Rachael Eggleston answered on 12 Mar 2025:

      They do, yes! Not all animals, and it can be very hard to prove for *sure*- but absolutely, they do, and personalities, too.

    • Photo: Emma Bull

      Emma Bull answered on 13 Mar 2025:

      Yes to some extent! What does an angry dog look like? Or a sad dog? What about a happy dog?

      Lots of animals will bare their teeth and growl when they are angry or threatened, and lots of species will slouch, tremble and flatten their ears back if they are fearful. These are easily recognisable signs of some animal emotions.
      Some other emotions are more difficult to prove. We know some species of animals mourn when a member of their herd dies (like elephants and monkeys) which means they probably feel grief similar to humans when someone dies. We know that some species of animals partner up and mate for life, but can we tell if they are in love in the same way that humans do, we aren’t so sure!

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