Humans benefit greatly from having brows because they protect our eyes from light and moisture and enhance our ability to express ourselves.
But are there animals with eyebrows like ours? Benefits should also be extended to other species.
As we’ll see, not all animals have visible eyebrows; it all depends on how you define the features.
Even if knowing about these incredible animals with eyebrows won’t necessarily blow your mind, I can assure you that it will increase your understanding of animals, regardless of age.
Although we have investigated every detail before writing our post on animals with eyebrows to prevent deception with myths, you’d better take expert advice.
Go now. I promise there will be at least one animal here that surprises you!
1. White-browed Wagtail Penguin
We begin with the animals with eyebrows, the penguin. However, not every penguin has brows. These characteristics are only seen in the rare species of rockhopper and crested penguins.
Medium-crested penguins are easily recognized by their bushy eyebrows, which run from the back of their heads to their eyes and feature vibrant yellow hues.
Particularly when swimming, penguins use their eyebrows to help recognize other members of their type.
The eyebrows can also be used to identify different species of penguins when birdwatching.
In the same way people use their eyebrows to flirt with people of the other sex, penguins—especially rockhopper penguins—are also known to wag theirs to attract potential partners.
Antarctica Island stretches from New Zealand to Chile, and Falkland Island, located on the north coast, is the greatest location to see these animals with eyebrows.
2. Horse
Although they have eyebrows, horses don’t have human eyebrows. In what way? Their faces, particularly the area above the eyes where the eyebrows should be, are entirely covered in hair.
Although the hair above the eyes is not distinguishable, the animals may move the surrounding muscles to control it for various objectives. Thus, it is accurate to claim that horses lack eyebrows.
Like us, horses also have eyebrows. They lift their eyebrows in sadness, fear, or astonishment.
Additionally, horses are sentient beings who use their eyebrows to convey various meanings and shield them from dust, sweat, and rain.
3. Camel
Camels are also on our list of animals with eyebrows. The thick, bushy eyebrows of camels, the ships of the desert, are composed of keratin strands.
Because the arid regions in which camels reside are often bright with sunlight, the animals’ eyebrows extend past their faces to protect their eyes from it.
The animal’s eyebrows and long eyelashes shield the eyes from dust and debris, aiding in vision protection.
In addition, the animals’ eyebrows help to shade their eyes from the harsh desert sun and maintain moisture in them.
4. Giraffe
The giraffe, the tallest mammal on the planet, has wrinkles above its large brown eyes that are fine enough to be called eyebrows. But scientists haven’t yet figured out what their eyebrows do.
5. Meerkat
Small and adorable mongooses native to Southern Africa are called meerkats. Although their eyebrows are only patches of discolored hair developing above their eyes, it takes extra effort to identify them in meerkats.
Like giraffes, biologists are still unsure of the purpose behind these endearing animals’ pseudo brows.
However, at least we now know that one of the things that makes meerkats so adorable is their eyebrows.
6. Gorilla
A few primates have visible brows, such as chimpanzees and marmosets.
As one might expect, these primates utilize their eyebrows similarly to humans. They can raise their eyebrows to display a range of emotions, such as pride and rage.
The eyebrows work in tandem with other facial characteristics to communicate.
For instance, these animals with eyebrows swiftly flick their tongues, smack their lips, and droop their eyebrows when they perceive danger.
7. White Wagtail
The largest member of the wagtail family, the white-browed wagtail, is a medium-sized bird.
Native to the Indian subcontinent, the birds live in freshwater marshes. Not only are the thin birds recognizable by their perpetually waving tails, but they also have noticeable white eyebrows.
Furthermore, except for penguins, birds do not have eyebrows for the same reason as other animals, as you have seen in whinchats and sandpipers.
Nonetheless, the characteristics are discernible and mostly serve as means of identification.
8. Raccoon
Raccoons are next on our list of animals with eyebrows. In North America, common raccoons are small, omnipresent mammals that inhabit various environments, such as marshes, woods, and plains.
Raccoons are adorable animals despite being unsuitable for pet ownership because of their characteristic black face masks. This mask simulates eyebrows by bordering pale hair stripes.
Although the raccoons’ eyebrows have no known functions, we can all agree that, like our eyebrows, they contribute to the beautiful nature of the creatures.
9. Bear
Another group of animals with eyebrows are bears, the world’s greatest carnivores.
Bears don’t have eyebrows because they give birth to hairless offspring.
However, in addition to their thick fur, they get eyebrows as they mature.
And bear eyebrows are nearly undetectable unless you look closely at their faces, just like the eyebrows of many dogs on our list.
There are a few tiny furrows and a ring of hairs above the eyes.
However, because the animals’ bodies—including their heads—are completely coated in thick fur that blends in with the hair on their eyebrows, it might be difficult to see the eyebrows.
Although the function of bear eyebrows has not been thoroughly studied, it is reasonable to infer that it is similar to that of other animals with eyebrows in that it keeps the eyes dry by keeping out dust and sweat and shields the eyes from bright sunlight.
10. Dog
Even though you may not have noticed them, dogs all have eyebrows. Dogs’ eyebrows comprise just the brow ridge and facial muscles on their face bone structure, unlike human eyebrows, which also have some hairs.
Nevertheless, some dog breeds—such as Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Dobermans—stand out from their relatives because they grow fur above their eyes that are colored differently.
Dogs typically wrinkle their eyebrows when they suddenly notice something.
In addition, when depressed, one’s eyes appear comparatively larger. These animals with eyebrows may also express various emotions with their eyebrow movements, such as curiosity, skepticism, or inquiry.
Additionally, these creatures’ eyebrows make them endearing to humans.
11. Household Cat
While eyebrows on domestic cats are characterized by hair, they are not on humans and other animals, including penguins.
The hair strips that grow above the eyelids allow you to distinguish the eyebrows in cats with unique color patterns.
Naturally, these animals don’t require as well-defined eyebrows as humans and penguins. They avoid water at all costs and don’t perspire.
Additionally, because their faces are covered with fur, they do not require eyebrow hairs to shield their eyes from dust.
However, cats can move the invisible brows to function similarly to other animals with eyebrows because they have facial muscles.
Cats can display a range of emotions through their body language. Similar to humans, they can raise or furrow their eyebrows to indicate stress or worry.
Of course, other cat traits, such as the ears, complement these expressions.
12. Small Migratory Bird
Small migratory birds and whinchats breed in Europe, Western Asia, and Africa.
The birds live in various environments, including farmlands, grasslands, rocky meadows, and coastal regions.
The main characteristic that distinguishes whinchats is their eyebrows.
Their eyebrows are the sole characteristic that sets them apart from other little birds, especially the stonechat.
Male eyebrows are bright white, whereas female and juvenile eyebrows are pale beige.
It is unknown whether these birds’ eyebrows have facial muscles. Hence, humans only use this characteristic to identify males apart from females in the species.
13. Panda
Adorable, bushy-tailed arboreal creatures, such as red pandas, graze on bamboo leaves for over twelve hours daily. The little animals with eyebrows sleep when they are not eating.
However, do you know why red pandas rank among the cutest animals in human perceptions? Their faces resemble newborn humans.
Furthermore, National Geographic describes the “little-old-man eyebrows” as one of the facial features of red pandas that, despite not being unique, contribute to the animals’ attraction to people.
Now, red pandas’ distinctive white eyebrows serve more purposes than just making the creatures look cute to people.
In addition to their teardrop-shaped markings, red pandas’ white brows aid in concealment and glare reduction.
14. Toad
Avoid furrowing your brows. You’re correct. According to BBC News, researchers in Colombia discovered a new frog species with distinctive yellow eyebrows. Recall that Colombia is one of the world’s most biodiverse nations.
Not all frogs have eyebrows, but researchers have found that Pristimantis macrummendozai, a particular species that stands out, has.
Researchers are still unsure if the frog’s eyebrows are merely for aesthetic purposes or if they are home to facial muscles.
15. Tiger
Tigers are the largest cats alive and the top predators. Most are found in the Russian Far East, Sumatra, the Indochinese Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent.
Although fierce hunters, these animals with eyebrows are among the most adorable wild creatures because of their dark-colored, vertical stripes on their orange-reddish coats.
In addition, National Geographic claims that the animal’s brows, cheeks, and squiggles are as unique as human fingerprints, situated directly above its eyes amid its many black spots.
However, it’s unclear if the tigers‘ eyebrows do anything for them besides appearing magnificent to people.
16. Birds
Medium-sized birds with long legs and bodies and thin wings are called sandpipers. Except for Antarctica, they can be found everywhere on the planet.
Numerous species, such as the common sandpiper and wood sandpiper, are members of the sandpiper family. Even though these birds all have eyebrows, each has a different trait.
For instance, the eyebrows of common sandpipers are light, but those of spotted varieties are distinct and well-groomed.
There are no other known uses for the brows of sandpipers other than to identify the various family members.
17. Human
Humans are the last animals on our list with eyebrows. Human expressiveness and communication depend on eyebrows, and showing our feelings is possible.
One raised eyebrow indicates doubt or curiosity. Two eyebrows may show surprise.
Our eyebrows help keep our eyes clean. These prevent sweat and rain from affecting our vision.
Have you noticed how your eyebrow hairs extend outward over your face? This helps transfer moisture from your eyes to your head. Brows block dirt and restrict light.
