In case you couldn't tell, we love Instagram. Whether it's athletes and photographers to follow, or learning about how to up our photography game, we can't get enough of this app. However, there is a large part of Instagram that we can ignore no longer: animals.
There is basically an Instagram account for any kind of animal you can think of, and, of course, there are probably too many dedicated to people's dogs and cats. But some have risen above the rest and caught more of our attention than we'd like to admit. And now we have decided to share with you our favorite animals to follow on Instagram.
See also: Stephanie Flannery of Phoenix's Golden Rule Tattoo on Why She Loves Pet Tattoos
15. Grumpy Cat
We couldn't make this list without giving a shout-out to our local furry Internet celebrity, Tardar Sauce, better known as Grumpy Cat. Tard lives in Morristown, Arizona, with her brother Pokey and her human Tabatha Bundesen. While we'd love to say that her moniker is due to an actual persistent unhappiness with the world, Grumpy Cat's disposition is more due to an underbite and other birth defects rather than her personality. Regardless, we love empathizing with her distaste for pretty much everything, especially on Mondays.
14. Pumpkin
Pumpkin lives in New York, but can mostly be seen with adorable props and stripes against airy, white backgrounds on Instagram. If you're feeling down, just pull up some photos of this pup and get ready to forget anything that's wrong with the world.
13. Lily Pig
Grumpy Cat isn't the only local pet we're throwing on this list. We've got a pig. It's Lily Pig. This little Phoenician is a Vietnamese Potbelly and likes veggies and naps. If we have to say anything else to convince you to go look at photos of a cute, tiny pig, there must be something wrong.
Technically this account belongs to Michigan marketing specialist Emily Wang, but the real stars are her two pups, Kokoro and Chibi. While these two best friends would be worthy of Instagram fame on their own, it's Wang's creativity in photographing her dogs that really made us fall for this feed.
11. Phoenix Zoo
We know what you're thinking. How could our local zoo's Instagram account be much more than what you've seen time and time again when you visit? But don't knock it until you've seen it, because whoever they've got taking the photos for their account is on point. Seriously, we were beyond impressed when we checked it out. Plus, there is a video of an elephant dancing in a "shower." That alone is worth a follow.
The caption for this photo reads, "Searching for babes at the beach." C'mon. Biddy is a 3-year-old African pygmy hedgehog and seems to love sniffing things, being held while curling up on his back, and exploring beautiful locations. Basically, Biddy is living the life we all wish we had. Well, almost.
Sadly, Uni is not actually a unicorn. Heartbreaking, we know. But he is still a beautiful, majestic miniature pony, and sometimes his owner puts a fake little horn on him, so that's about as close as we are going to get to seeing an actual unicorn while we scroll through our feed. And it's good enough for us.
8. Colonel Meow
Do you see this cat? Just take one look at this cat and tell us you don't want to be surprised by that amazing face while you're looking through your Instagram feed. Intensely concentrating on things off in the distance and throwing some serious shade is what this cat does best, and we can't get enough.
Oh, Marnie. We don't know if it's those little round eyes, those floppy ears, that tongue that just won't stay in your mouth, or your positive attitude, but whatever it is, it's caused us to fall in love with you. If you hunt a little bit on Marnie's account, you'll fine a photo of Lena Dunham acting like any of us would if we met Marnie with what we think is a joke spoiler for season four of HBO's Girls. We just really hope it's not a joke.
6. Panda Marc
So, we're a little confused about Panda Marc's Instagram. Is this the account of one panda named Marc who has a lot of other panda friends? Is Marc not actually someone's name but maybe an abbreviation for something else? Is it just the Instagram feed of someone named Marc who really likes pandas? Does Panda Marc own all of these pandas? We don't know the answers to these questions, but we do know that Panda Marc gives us all the photos of pandas we could ever need.
We'll fully admit it: Princess Monster Truck is kind of terrifying. But if Tyra can make a name for herself by being fierce, so can this little rescue cat from New York, and we fully support it. So keep on doing you, Princess Monster Truck, and we'll keep following.
Pirate Pug Jack has a very fitting name. He has one eye, he's a pug, his name is Jack, and that's pretty much it. Anytime we feel like we just can't do something, we think of little Pirate Pug Jack and feel inspired to keep going. We're not sure if he was born with just one eye or if he lost one during his Puggy, adventure-filled life, but we're fans either way.
3. Lil Bub
Like Grumpy Cat, Lil Bub has caused an Internet sensation with her charms and stunning good looks. She's also from space. Maybe that last sentence isn't true, but she has starred in a movie, had a book about her published, and raised both money and awareness for the ASPCA. That's more than most people we know have accomplished. Oh, she also hosts a talk show. Yep, she's pretty great.
2. Grown Ass Women with Dinosaurs
Technically these are not animals, so technically they should't be included in this list. But technically dinosaurs are awesome, and these grown-ass women who pose and photograph them may or may not be our heroes. Also, their tribute to Robin Williams was perfect. Props, ladies.
1. Beanz Hart
Maybe we have a thing for dogs with their tongues hanging out. So what? We don't judge you for whatever you're into. Anyway, this is Beanz Hart. She is owned by the comedic, alcohol-obsessed YouTuber Mamrie Hart, and sometimes Beanz gets to dress up and appear in her videos. All the time, Beanz has her tongue hanging out, and we love it.
