are humans the only animals that cry

Humans are currently considered the only animals that cry tears as an emotional response. While many animals such as dogs, elephants, and primates show behaviors that indicate emotions like sadness or distress, they do not shed emotional tears as humans do. Animals have tear glands to produce tears for eye lubrication or reflex reasons (such as clearing debris), but emotional crying with tear shedding appears unique to humans. This ability may be linked to our social complexity and communication needs, possibly serving to signal distress or elicit empathy from others. Some recent studies have suggested dogs may produce more tears in emotional reunions, but the scientific community remains skeptical and has not confirmed emotional tear production outside humans yet.