To find out more about Openly Gay Animals, we got in touch with the creator of the account, Emanuel Fappas. He was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share some updates on how his page has been since the last time we featured it.
"It has been a fun and unexpected ride," the creator says. "The page has grown a lot, with many new followers and ongoing support from people who enjoy the relatable and playful energy. Some posts have taken off more than I expected, and it has been exciting to see how far they spread online. Instagram is always changing, so I have been experimenting with new tools. Adding music has made a big difference lately. When the audio fits the mood of the image, it really helps push the content further."
We were also curious about how Emanual decides which images to post on Openly Gay Animals. "I go with what makes me laugh right away. If I see a photo and a voice or personality instantly pops into my head, I know it will work," he shared.
"I have made a lot of memes in the past that still circulate online, so I like to mix in a variation of my own as well. While animal content is the heart of the brand, I also post non-animal memes when they fit the tone," the creator continued. "Anything that feels emotionally specific, overly dramatic, or highly relatable usually makes the cut. If it feels like something your chaotic friend would send at two in the morning, it probably belongs on the page."
"We are also a community, so we love to repost other content creators," Emanuel added. "It is always great to see how excited people get when they are featured. Many of them say they get a real boost when their post is shared, and that kind of mutual support is something we really value. It is all about building a community that uplifts each other while keeping things funny and fun."
When it comes to the creator's favorite posts, he says one that stands out is a small monkey receiving an orange with a caption reading: Seeing my sister happy is priceless. "The energy was pure fun, and people loved it," Emanuel shared.
So what's next for the future of Openly Gay Animals? "I recently launched OpenlyGayAnimals.com, where the animals now live on T-shirts, hoodies and more," Emanuel told Bored Panda. "Some celebrities have purchased our shirts and that’s great! They are great quality. I am also working on bringing the same kind of humor into short-form video, which has been a fun challenge. There are more things in the works."
And finally, the creator wanted to give a thank you to everyone who connects with the page. "Openly Gay Animals is about being funny and relatable. It is about building a community and making people laugh, especially during a time when a lot of people need cheering up," he shared. "The world can feel like a dark place sometimes, and if even for a moment someone visits the page and it brings them joy, then I feel good about that. That is what keeps me going. I am really grateful that this idea continues to bring people joy."
Anyone who’s ever had a pet knows how hilarious animals can be. Whether it’s your cat hiding out in a cabinet for hours to surprise you when you reach for a snack or your dog making the strangest sounds imaginable when they want attention, it’s hard to imagine that animals behave the way they do without trying to be funny. And, as it turns out, maybe they do know exactly what they’re doing!
According to the BBC, some animals actually do have an evolved sense of humor. In fact, a 2024 study found that great apes enjoy teasing each other and exhibiting behavior that they appear to find funny. “What we saw often was that a juvenile would sneak up behind an adult that was busy grooming another ape, and proceed to poke them or hit them on the back, sometimes even surprising them," Isabelle Laumer, the first author of the study writes.
The teasing behavior that has been observed in apes is actually very similar to the way that young children play. Maybe you even teased your younger siblings the same way as a kid! But apes aren’t the only animals that have been spotted acting like this; dogs have actually been known to display similarly playful behavior.
"If a bit of stick or other such object be thrown to one, he will often carry it away for a short distance; and then squatting down with it on the ground close before him, will wait until his master comes quite close to take it away,” Charles Darwin wrote in his book The Descent of Man. “The dog will then seize it and rush away in triumph, repeating the same maneuver, and evidently enjoying the practical joke."
If you have a dog, you’ve also probably noticed that they often let out a breathy sort of snort when playing, which very well might be their own way of laughing. And as it turns out, foxes, wild coyotes and wolves have been known to do the same thing. In fact, even some animals in our oceans might have senses of humor. Dolphins, for example, often produce sounds that seem to be joyful when play-fighting.
Unfortunately, there’s no way of knowing for certain whether animals truly have a sense of humor or if we’re projecting our own experiences onto them. But there’s no question that many species like to play with their friends or family members, and we can certainly relate to that!
Regardless of whether or not animals intend to be funny, there’s no question that humans love observing (and giggling at) them. Cats, dogs, raccoons, frogs, turtles, you name it. We just can’t help but love them all! And according to Alpha Tech Pet, there are plenty of reasons why we can’t get enough of these furry, fluffy, scaly and feathery creatures. One of the main reasons being, at least in the case of our pets, that they provide us with unconditional love.
We also often feel safe around animals because they don’t judge us the same way other humans might. Sure, it may seem like your cat is constantly giving you the side-eye or gets offended when you have the audacity to pet him on the head. But animals will never make fun of how we look or judge us for telling a joke that didn’t quite land. Animals are always being 100% themselves, and in their presence, we can feel safe to do the same.
