From the tragic tale of Harambe who received attention across the world, to love pouring in for the ugliest dog in the world and the outrage over a police horse named Shaktiman, this year saw animals make their presence felt in the digital space (Photo: Instagram/Facebook/PTI)
Winning the title of the ugliest dog ever may not seem appealing, but for Sweepee Rambo in California, it led to instant online fame as it was loved by social media users globally (Photo: Facebook)
Cats are some of the most adorable creatures on the planet but Gimo from South Korea gave everyone the feels with the biggest and most captivating eyes ever (Photo: Instagram)
Among many hoax stories about strange animals and aliens, was the video of this creature said to be captured in Karnataka. It was later revealed that it's nothing but a diseased Malaysian Sun Bear and it once again taught us not to believe everything on the internet (Photo: YouTube)
While a virus robbed her of colourful feather and left her bald, Rhea the parrot gained popularity and adoration on Instagram as the 'Naked Bird' as social media embraced her (Photo: Instagram)
While Donald Trump was making headlines globally, a bird in China was named the 'Trump Bird' for bearing striking resemblance to the president elect (Photo: Facebook)
Rescued from the streets by an employee of a Chinatown store, 9-year-old Bobo has been running the store for nine years without a break as he likes to sit at the entrance and greet customers (Photo: Instagram)
In a tale of hope, a stray dog named Popeye saw its life change when he was rescued, as he went on to become a pet friendly restaurant critic (Photo: Instagram)
Shaktiman, a Kathiawari mare serving the Uttarakhand Police Force, was injured in a BJP rally when MLA Ganesh Joshi assaulted it. The creature's leg had to be amputated as it succumbed to infection days later. The incident triggered national outrage (Photo: PTI)
Celebrated as Tigress Queen of Ranthambore, Lady of Lakes and Crocodile killer, Bengal tigress Machali was the world's most photographed tiger and was considered the oldest tiger in the wild when she died in 2016 (Photo: Facebook)
The heart-breaking tale of the gorilla named Harambe made headlines when he was shot dead after a 3-year-old climbed into the enclosure (Photo: Facebook)