As any YouTube search can confirm, people are pretty obsessed with animals. Kittens playing, goats screaming, polar bears cuddling... you name it.

People also really get a kick out of animals acting like humans, (and, ok, I’ll admit that a toad sitting upright, pondering life, is pretty hilarious.)

But what about the reverse? What if WE as humans acted more like animals?

I think the human-animal relationship has gotten a little too one-sided. Humans buy the doggie halloween costumes, and the dogs wear them. Humans film cats struggling with iPads, and the cats can’t say “You know what? This is pretty annoying.”

So, it’s time to turn the tables. It’s time to say, “It’s an animal's’ world, and we’re just living in it!” No, I’m not telling you to eat off the floor or to search strangers on the subway for lice…. but I do want you to look at some fundamental animal habits, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way.

Meerkats use teamwork

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You know meerkats? Those slender mammals from Africa? Timon from the Lion King? Well, besides constantly standing upright (or so it seems), they also demonstrate amazing teamwork. Meerkat groups--known as “mobs” or “gangs” (though I can’t say those scrawny guys look particularly tough)--work together to ward off threats, build their homes and ensure the safety of their group.

Meerkats live in sleeping burrows, which get filled with excess sand and debris throughout the day. To preserve their homes, one meerkat will enter the burrow and clear the way by throwing the unneeded dirt and sand back between its legs. Another meerkat will join the line behind the lead digger, helping out as the leader goes deeper and deeper into the burrow. Than another meerkat will join behind the second, and so on. Sometimes the digging chain will involve up to six meerkats.

Meerkats also stand guard for one another when out foraging. While the rest of the group is searching for food, one meerkat (known as the sentinel) will serve as watchman in a tree or bush and make very specific noises to indicate if a predator is approaching, or issue a “watchman’s song” to reassure their family that the coast is clear. Meerkats even rotate who is on sentinel duty.

Lesson: It’s pretty much the Global Citizen motto… don’t be a bystander! Chip in and step it up when there’s work to be done. And when working as a team, make sure there's an equitable division of labor.

Chickens are excellent communicators

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Believe it or not, chickens have a more sophisticated language than roosters. (I guess all that early-morning yelling is just a way to make noise.) Chicks and chickens make around 30 different calls, each with a unique meaning.

Some chick and chicken calls include warning when a predator is near, indicating that a chick is in need of help, and notifying when a chick has laid an egg. My personal favorite is the call used for when a chick has discovered a food source that she wants to share with her family and friends. This call even becomes more high pitch when the food is particularly tasty!

Lesson: It’s like all those subway ads say… “When you see something, say something!” Clear communication is crucial for a happy, unified society. That means everything from speaking up when you see something wrong to sharing useful information with those around you.

Monkeys are friendly neighbors

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It’s pretty common knowledge that monkeys are social beings, but the the red colobus monkey even interacts with neighbors from other species. Found throughout Africa, the red colobus spends most of its day in the treetops, where it encounters guenons, another species. Instead of ignoring, or worse shunning, their neighbors the red colobus hangs out with them. In monkey world that means a free massage (aka grooming)!

Chimps and baboons are two other highly social species who live near one another in East Africa and occasionally interact. Though baboons are much stronger and larger than chimps, and each species possesses different social traits and lifestyles, the neighbors have learned to coexist and actually play with one another. Again, massages all around!

Lesson: This world is meant for sharing, and not just with people who are exactly like us. From people of different ethnic backgrounds to immigrant communities, everyone deserves to be treated with respect and land/ resources are meant to be shared.

African elephants respect their female elders

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Scientists had long suspected that elephant herds led by older leaders had more knowledge, and were better able to organize themselves and stay safe, but this theory was relatively hard to prove. That is until a group of scientists created a formal study, where they used a loudspeaker to blast lion roars and observed how different groups of elephants reacted. The researchers found that elephant herds led by a matriarch of over 60 were not only able to identify lion roars more easily, but responded and organized themselves more quickly as a united front. Groups with elder female leaders are also likely to produce more offspring, which is beneficial to family survival.

Younger elephants learn from the example set by elders. Matriarchs remain group leaders until they die and they never even lose their hearing or cognitive ability.

Lesson: Don’t put grandma in a retirement community! No, but seriously, in a world that often equates “new” with “good” and “old” with “bad” (whether that be styles, technology, products, or philosophies) it’s easy to forget that our elders not only deserve our respect, but probably know a thing or two that could help us out!

Whales and dolphins are emotionally complex

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Dolphin and whale brains indicate the animals have greater capacity for emotional intelligence than humans do! The limbic system, a collection of nerves and networks in the brain, is responsible for instinct, mood, and controlling basic emotions and the formation of memories. Apparently whales’ and dolphins’ limbic systems are extremely large and complex, and actually merge with other parts of the animals’ brains to create a “mixture of both emotional and cognitive thinking.” This means that dolphins and whales are superb at reading one another’s emotions, are excellent social communicators, and are very self-aware.

Evidence of this emotional and social awareness is seen in how dolphins and whales treat one another. For example, 30 killer whales once stayed with an injured member of their group for three days in shallow waters, even at the risk of getting stranded and sunburnt, until the whale passed away. Dolphins routinely demonstrate acts of kindness towards one another, and have even gone as far as guiding stranded whales back to sea and rescuing human swimmers from hammerhead sharks.

Lesson: It’s time to get perceptive people! Humans have to keep their eyes and ears open to pick up on other’s moods and attitudes. It will make it much easier to live in this world together.

So there you have it. From expressing ourselves more clearly, to working better together and being more socially aware, there are several things that animals do naturally that we humans can learn a lot from.

If animals have one thing figured out, it’s definitely their own happiness and survival, and that often means respecting, helping, and interacting with other animals. Sounds like they’re all global citizens to me.

You can be, too, by going to TAKE ACTION NOW and declaring your support for the Global Goals.