The ability to recognize and respond to others' emotions and intentions—empathy—may not be a uniquely human behavior, recent research suggests. Neural activity associated with empathy has been observed in mice, dogs, and monkeys.
Empathy in animals spans species and continents. Animals display empathy toward humans and other animals in a multitude of ways, including comforting, grieving and even rescuing each other from harm at their own expense.
#1 Dogs. First on our list of the top 10 friendliest animals in the world is man's best friend – dogs.
Otter is a feminine power, and the symbol of grace and empathy.
Cognitive bias tests and learned helplessness models have shown feelings of optimism and pessimism in a wide range of species, including rats, dogs, cats, rhesus macaques, sheep, chicks, starlings, pigs, and honeybees.
Elephants are considered to be one of the world's most empathic species.
The ability to recognize and respond to others' emotions and intentions—empathy—may not be a uniquely human behavior, recent research suggests. Neural activity associated with empathy has been observed in mice, dogs, and monkeys.
Cow. The cow is yet another animal that's easily connected to Earth. This also represents the symbol of power, nurturing, and fertility. Other meanings behind the cow include steadfastness, compassion, and perception.
The capybara, considered the friendliest wild animal, has a calm and compassionate nature, even adopting stray and runt animals, and even providing transportation on its back for birds and monkeys. Considered worldwide as the best pets, canines were one of the first species domesticated by homo sapiens.
Studies have shown that dogs help calm and relax people, and therapy dogs are a testament to this. Larger breeds, such as Labradors and Golden Retrievers, are most often seen as therapy dogs, but that doesn't mean other breeds can't make a good therapy animal.
The Mute Swan, however, is quiet but fierce and males are extremely territorial during the breeding season. It's considered to be one of the most dangerous birds in the world. If you think male geese are bad enough, you don't want to know what it's like for male mute swans to beat them.
As it or something like it appears to be present in the brains of all vertebrates, it's possible that even crocodiles have empathy. What may surprise you even more is that this shared heritage of brain structure means empathy can be shared across different species.
Sharks are not only capable of feeling emotions similar to humans, but they can even be subject to psychological trauma.
Countless studies have been done on the capacity of animals—both human and nonhuman—to show empathy for one another. Most scientists agree that empathy is an evolutionary advantage reserved for the smartest mammals, including great apes, dolphins and humans.
Evolutionary biologists determined that an animal's behaviors are altruistic when they benefit other individuals, even to the potential detriment of themselves. Species with complex social structures like bees, ants and termites provide great examples of biological altruism.
Elephants are also extremely caring and empathetic to other members of their group and to other species, which is considered as a highly advanced form of intelligence. The great apes are considered to be the smartest creatures after humans. Among them, orangutans stand out as being especially gifted with brain.
Dog - Typifies loyalty, kinship, bravery, perseverance, and happiness and also conveys protection and reliability.
The dove. The dove has been a symbol of peace and innocence for thousands of years in many different cultures.
Panthers are known to symbolize strength, companionship, adventure, loyalty, triumph, and a spiritual mind or personality.
The bluebird is a symbol of happiness in many cultures around the world, including in Russia, where it represents hope, and in China's Shang Dynasty, where it's a messenger of knowledge and enlightenment.
Insects may be able to feel fear, anger and empathy, after all.
On the other hand, animals such as reptiles and insects don't have emotions as such but have a key goal in life such a survival and don't need to withhold information such as emotions in their mind as they are not as intricate and developed of that of humans and mammals.
Animals with very large flock size and/or complex social systems consistently score high EQ, with dolphins and orcas having the highest EQ of all cetaceans, and humans with their extremely large societies and complex social life topping the list by a good margin.