Us and them: in common

What do wild animals and humans have in common?

Cheetahs make distinct facial expressions to signal their moods.

Lions establish close family groups and can spend 2/3rds of the day sleeping.

Leopards are loners and spend a lot of their day grooming.

Baboon mothers and infants are in almost constant contact for the first few months.

Male giraffes "neck" and have been known to mount each other.

Elephant mother-daughter bonds can last 50 years.

A dominant male hippo will defend his place to the death.

Hyenas don't "laugh"; the sound they make is more like a nervous chuckle, showing submission to more dominant hyenas.

African buffaloes come together and "vote" on which direction to take.

Wildebeest pick up stakes and move frequently.

Elephants recognize themselves in mirrors and use tools of their own design.

Lionesses prefer lions with darker, thicker manes: appearances matter.

Zebras search for one who is lost...individuals matter.

Zebras are born all black or all white and then, as they get older, develop the white or the black stripes they are meant to have.

They are all the same creatures no matter how they begin life or how things change later. That's only skin deep.

Do we really have so much in common? (We have so much to learn from them.)