It's Official! Animals Can Fall In Love!

A recent study by Professor Paul Zak of Claremont Graduate University looked into the hormone oxytocin as a bonding agent in relationships, and made an amazing discovery: animals are capable of falling in love in the same way humans do! Zak found this data by measuring the oxytocin levels in the subjects' blood. One such experiment took him to Arkansas, where a terrier and goat had a very special relationship. The animals' oxytocin levels were measured before and after playing together. In an article for The Atlantic, Zak stated, "We found that the dog had a 48 percent increase in oxytocin. This shows that the dog was quite attached to the goat. The moderate change in oxytocin suggests the dog viewed the goat as a "friend." More striking was the goat's reaction to the dog: It had a 210 percent increase in oxytocin. At that level of increase, within the framework of oxytocin as the "love hormone," we essentially found that the goat might have been in love with the dog. The only time I have seen such a surge in oxytocin in humans is when someone sees their loved one, is romantically attracted to someone, or is shown an enormous kindness."

Dog-goat love! It's a thing. To celebrate that fact, here are 10 other loving animal couples.