10 Best Animals To Follow On Instagram

Instagram was made for 3 types of pictures: selfies, food, and cute animals. It’s pretty much a fact of life, like “Chocolate chip cookies are better than sugar cookies” and “Justin Bieber is kind of a wimp.” (I realize that was a low-blow to Justin but after his stint at the Great Wall of China, I’ve forgotten how to be nice to him.) I prefer to focus on the last image category because my selfies usually come out with multiple chins and my diet is limited to crackers and bagels while I’m at school. While cute animals are universal, they are also in abundance, especially on the Internet. However, I believe I’ve narrowed down the cutest or most creative animal-themed Instagram accounts (in my opinion) or at least, the most worthy of mention to the following ten. Feel free to stalk every single one of them.

1) Darcy the Flying Hedgehog (@darcytheflyinghedgehog)

Hedgehogs scare me, not because they’re particularly vicious but because I used to mistake them for baby porcupines, which a lot of people seemed to own as pets, so I became very confused about life. Darcy the Flying Hedgehog still looks far too prickly to me, but the cuteness of his account makes up for it. No larger than the size of a palm, Darcy’s little round body acts as a perfect prop in a surprising number of scenarios. I don’t know where the flying part comes in. If he is, in fact, part superhero, he hasn’t revealed it to his audiences yet.

2) Lil Bub (@iamlilbub)

Born with a series of genetic mutations, Lil Bub is a dwarf perma-kitten (meaning, permanent kitten, in case anyone has ever wondered if such a mythical creature exists) with a hefty reputation on the Internet. With her own YouTube channel and documentary, Lil Bub has captured the hearts of the world with her wide-eyed stare and dangling tongue. Her owner, Mike Bridavsky, uses the profits from Lil Bub merchandise to fund animal rescue league projects and animal health groups, which is just an added bonus.

3) Hamilton the Hipster Cat (@hamilton_the_hipster_cat)

No matter how many times you draw a mustache on your finger and put it under your nose, you will never be as cool as Hamilton the cat. Born with a white patch in the shape of a mustache, Hamilton is the classiest cat you’ll ever encounter. He just needs a top hat and a monocle and he’ll be good to go.

4) Yogurt the Pirate Dog (@yogurt_thepirate)

Yogurt the Pirate Dog proves that animals don’t need two eyes or control of their tongue muscles to be cute. The one-eyed Chihuahua puppy has been blowing up Instagram feeds lately with his pirate costumes and silly expression, and he probably has more followers than you do on Twitter. Having the name “Yogurt” probably doesn’t hurt his popularity, either.

5) Tron (@tronthedog)

Along those lines, not only do animals not need to have both eyes to be cute, but they also don’t need to have the same color eyes. Tron is a French-Bulldog from San Francisco that has one blue eye and one brown eye, which makes for some pretty stunning pictures, to say the least.

6) Richard the Cat (@Richard_Kitty)

Dogs are not the only ones that can sport funky eyes. Richard the cat has heterochromia as well, this time with one orange and one blue eye. Warning: if you stare at his face too long, you may begin to question reality because Richard’s eyes almost seen unreal.

7) Balki Bones (@balkibones)

Though you may not notice his defect at first glance, Balki Bones is a three-legged walking feather-duster. His piercing pumpkin eyes pop out against his white fur, making for some adorable photos.

8) Kingsley (@kingsleythecavalier)

Kingsley the Cocker Spaniel is the closest we will ever get to a red-headed animal. With bright orange spots and beady little eyes, Kingsley would make the perfect actor in any of those Petco commercials. She may also be the reincarnation of Lucille Ball, because she also seems to have a camera face. Maybe I’m seeing things.

9) Norm the Pug (@jermzlee)

Norm has been known to take selfies of himself with only one paw. He’s been seen balancing on fire hydrants and playing rock paper scissors with his human master. One time, he even drove a car. The best part is, there are pictures to prove it. The pug’s owner takes a picture of Norm almost every day doing some sort of human-like activity. If dogs had Instagram, this is what it would look like, with probably a few more pictures of their tail.

10) Lots of birds (@AvianRecon)

In an effort to make this list not entirely composed of dogs and cats (and the occasionally hedgehog/porcupine), here is a general animal account that photographs interesting images of eagles and owls at a bird prey center in Florida. Who knew birds had so many expressions…

Featured image via Akamai.com