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Listicle: 10 animals who are more talented than most hoomans
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Painting dogs, skateboarding cats and a squirrel who water-skis. Meet 10 overachieving animals with wildly impressive CVs
Labrador Dali. The doggo is known on Insta (@Im.Labrador.Dali) as India’s first canine painter. Her humans, Hyderabadi artists Hoi Choudhury and Snehangshu Debnath, adopted Dali when she was just 45 days old. Pretty soon, they found out she was a painting protégée in the making. They mentored her, and today Dali has her own custom-engineered paintbrushes, which she uses to create water-colour masterpieces that are sold to raise money for other doggos like herself.
Butter Madam. The Indie dog and her dad, Yati Gaur (@TheUnfoldingPlay), have walked 15,000 km across India through 13 states. While your trip is stuck in the group chat, Butter has explored deserts, forests, the Himalayas, and three oceans. After five years, she took it up a notch, becoming the first Indie to complete the gruelling trek to Nepal’s Annapurna Base Camp. Whether 4,130 metres high or on a local bus, Butter uses her fame to promote the “adopt, don’t shop” movement.
Didga. She’s a 14-year-old Australian cat, and has been skateboarding since she was a kitten. After Robert Dollwet adopted her in 2012, he noticed how she’d confidently hop onto a skateboard during an outing. Four years later, she won the Guinness World Record for performing the most tricks (20) by a cat in one minute. Didga doesn’t simply stand on a moving board; she manoeuvres her body weight to steer, drops in on ramps, and rides down bowls. Can you?
Apollo. The nerdy Grey African parrot is a home-schooled Floridan, can identify colours, count how many blocks are on a table, differentiate between glass, metal and paper, and even construct full sentences, all in exchange for his fav ‘pistaches’. He’s only six, and has been trained by his humans Dalton and Victoria Mason. In 2025, he even broke a Guinness World Record for the Most items identified by a parrot in three minutes (12).
Taawi. The Finnish bunny was adopted by Aino Kivikallio in 2014. He never imagined that four years later, the rabbit would win a Guinness World Record for the most tricks performed by a rabbit in one minute. Taawi loves fresh carrots and dried bananas, and happily knocks over bottles, takes toys out of boxes, and jumps obstacles for treats. When he’s not advocating for rabbit care or winning awards, he chills with his gf, Fuga, in his custom two-story hutch.
Chupi. A goat who surfs? Now you’ve seen everything! Chupi, aka Chupacabrah, is a regular sight at Pismo Beach, California, learning from her human teacher Dana McGregor (aka The Goatfather). The black goat has perfect surf posture, and did a dramatic, high-flying wipeout off a giant tandem board where she emerged completely unfazed. She is also an essential member of the Beautifully Abled Surf Camp, offering calming support to children and young adults with special needs.
Kiwi. Though this amphibian has existed for over 1000 years, the axolotl only gained mainstream popularity recently. Riding this wave is four-year-old Kiwi from USA, who tic-tac-toed his way to stardom when a video of him losing against his mom Sara, and demanding a rematch, went viral gaining the duo upwards of 10 million views. To play, Sara marks an “X” on the grid, then draws an “O” wherever Kiwi parks his body.
Merlin. The talking Mini Vietnamese Potbelly pig holds the Guinness World Record for most followers on Instagram for a pig (1.2M). He’s four, lives in California, and can clap back sharper than a teenager. He regularly accuses his spare human of a-buuussee, using the AAC “Talking” Buttons. Merlin knows which buttons to hit when he wants attention from his “Mommy” (Mina Alali), snacks or just wants to communicate “I’m mad” when he’s being told he’s on a diet.
Twiggy XI (Dot Baby). Twiggy comes from a long line of water-skiing Eastern Gray Squirrels, all named Twiggy, after the first of their kind who was rescued by Chuck and Lou Ann Best in Florida in 1978. Since then, Twiggy has showed up in several movies, skiing in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and Grown Ups. On her Insta @TwiggyShow, you can watch her glide across a heated pool on custom, miniature foam water skis as she raises awareness about water safety in her tiny life-jacket.
Bertie. Whoever coined the phrase “Slow as a tortoise” clearly never met Bertie. This South African leopard tortoise from the UK became the Guinness World Record holder for the fastest tortoise in 2014, clocking a blistering 0.28 metres per second over a 5.48-metre course. That may not sound like much, but in tortoise terms, it’s basically Formula One. Bertie reportedly charges off “like a clockwork toy”, loves sprinting towards strawberry treats, and lives the chilliest life ever.
From HT Brunch, September 19, 2026
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