As many humans are there are in the world--now seven billion and still rising, albeit more slowly than previously--there are many, many more animals. They belong to more species than humans have even counted yet, at an estimated 8.7 million, and that only includes the ones we know about. While humans' large brains tend to make us fairly distinct from one another, animals of the same species are more often quite similar to one another.

That's why it's possible to say that dogs tend to be friendly, intelligent and family oriented but individual, while honeybees are industrious and wider community-oriented. Horses are flighty and collectivist, while snakes are fiercely independent and don't bother you if you don't bother them. Of course, there are always exceptions--there's probably one dog, somewhere out there, that is simply a jerk. Still, generally speaking, when someone says that a person is like a bear, we can all agree roughly with what that means.

The upshot is that whatever personality you have, there is probably a species somewhere out there that would match quite well with your particular way of thinking. Are you independent but familial like a wolf? Are you matriarchal and smart like an elephant? Let's find out!