It may seem so, especially when highly-developed animals, such as chimps and dogs exhibit responses that seem to appreciate the incongruity of a situation. I haven't read any studies on this subject, but I suspect that some animals have learned to react according to cues received from humans - like a toddler who doesn't get the joke but has discovered that when he laughs along with the adults they pay him extra attention.
A sense of "fun" or play is evident in animals, especially young ones, who seem delighted when engaged in interactive freeform running and roughhousing. We had a marvelous black Lab mix who had a canny ability to differentiate between two uses for the same device - a rubber dog pull-toy (see photo).
There were times when "Macho" wanted a vigorous game of give & take, pull and twist, when he would bring the pull-toy to me shaking it in his teeth amid low, good-natured growling. Then there wer times - usually when there were several people present when we would say, "Make a funny face", and he would proceed to wrap the toy around his snout so that it ended up looking like a catcher's mask - at which point he affected a stance that seemed to say, "How do you like me now?"
The more we encouraged him with sounds of exclamation, laughter, pointing and clapping, and, of course, "Good DOG!" - the more eager and excited he was to entertain us.
I don't think dogs have the cognitive function or whatever that can discern irony or humor, but they have learned to react in ways that mimic our behavior and please us.
Mach also had an extensive understood vocabulary. But that's another story...
