In the animal kingdom, some of the most unlikely friendships can form between different species, resulting in the oddest animal couples. These relationships may seem unusual to us, but for the animals involved, they provide companionship and often help them to survive. From the baby hippo Owen and his giant Aldabran tortoise “mother” to the African lion cub Koza and his Italian mastiff puppy friend Cairo, these unusual pairings remind us of the importance of love and friendship, no matter the differences between us.
In the Animal Kingdom, unusual friendships often form between different species, like the one between a baby hippo named Owen and its “mother,” a giant male Aldabran tortoise at Mombasa Haller Park in Kenya. The pair have been together for a year, ever since the calf was rescued from the sea off Malindi by Kenya Wildlife Service rangers during the Asian tsunami. The rescue separated the hippo from its mother, but Owen found an unlikely companion in the tortoise and they have been inseparable ever since.
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Dema is a 26-day-old endangered Sumatran Tiger cub. Irma, a 5-month-old female Orangutan, cuddles up with Dema at the ‘Taman Safari Indonesia’ Animal Hospital in West Java, Indonesia.
Gohan the hamster was supposed to be dinner for Aochan the snake. But they became friends and now live together in a cardboard box at the Mutsugoro Okoku zoo in Tokyo.
Manni is a five-week-old young boar found abandoned in the forest. He now enjoys playing with Candy, a Jack Russell terrier, in Ehringhausen, Germany. Manni is hand-fed.
At a zoo in Stroehen, northern Germany, a German Dachshund named “Bessi” guards a five-day-old tiger cub, whom she has adopted. Bessi started nursing the little tiger when it lost its parents, and she is fiercely protective of the cub.
Bessi & her adopted cub
Bea, a giraffe, and Wilma, an ostrich, have a cuddly moment in Busch Gardens animal park.
On a farm located in eastern Ukraine, a pig is nursing a dozen piglets of her own and three tiger cubs.
Koko, the famous gorilla who signs, adores her kitten.
A Vietnamese pig joins a march in Manila with its owner and two dogs to protest cruelty to dogs.
Essy, a Cherry Valley duck, thinks she’s a dog and enjoys walks with her owner’s two Staffordshire cross dogs in Bournemouth, England.
Tourists at the Sri Racha tiger zoo watch piglets trying to fit in with their adoptive tigress mother.
Cora, a two-month-old circus-born tiger rejected by her mother, is fed by her adoptive mother, a four-year-old dog.
Cora and her cub!
That’s bananas! A capybara – Wow, that’s crazy! At Tobu Zoo, a capybara is carrying a squirrel monkey on its back.
In eastern China’s Anhui province, at the Safari Park in Hefei, three lion cubs are being fed by a mother dog after their actual mother abandoned them. This is a common practice in Chinese zoos, where female dogs are used as surrogate mothers for various newborn animals.
A wild boar cub, captured by farmers, is being domesticated in Lantian County of Shaanxi Province, China by being kept in a hogpen with other pigs.
In Cundy’s Harbor, Maine, a Chihuahua pup named Zachary is cuddling with one of three orphaned squirrels that his mother is taking care of along with her own two puppies.
The pup looks puzzled …! but does not seem to mind the new napping friend.
In Kingston, Ontario, two-week-old rabbits were found in a garden and taken in by Pooh the cat’s owner. Pooh has since become their adoptive mother, and the rabbits seem to be at home with her.
At the Warsaw zoo, a three-month-old tiger cub named Zoya was rejected by her mother. To give her a companion, a zoo employee introduced her to Frida, a three-month-old Alsatian puppy. They now play together in a special enclosure.
In Budapest, Hungary, a barbary macaque at the Budapest Zoo searches for fleas in the fur of a barbary sheep.
Pippo, a tabby cat, encountered a pet rabbit while walking in the outskirts of Milan. To his surprise, the rabbit turned out to be the predator. Despite the scare, the cat-rabbit pairing seems to be a successful one. Lucky, a cat, has nursed and cared for a baby rabbit named Merlin as if it were one of her own kittens.
At the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, llama Lilly shares a moment with a rabbit as they await the Blessing of the Animals. Llama Java stands nearby, while Anna (11) and Deborah Bernstein of Brewster, New York, observe.
A stray dog, freshly bathed at a pet shop in China, plays with a pet cat.
A pet cat plays with a stray dog that just has a shower in a pet shop in China.
In a Siberian tiger safari park in Harbin, China, a lion and a Siberian tiger rest.
At the Jinan Wildlife World in Shandong Province, China, two lion cubs, and a tiger cub play together to help them become friends.
The big cats appear to be getting along and forming a happy feline family.
At Macy’s Petacular in New York, these two animals met in a stylish manner.
Two tiger cubs and four lion cubs play together.
At the North Shore Animal League, rabbits and kittens frequently engage in play together.
Koza, an 11-week-old African lion cub, and Cairo, a 3-month-old Italian mastiff puppy, take a break from chasing each other at the San Diego Zoo. The two friends relax with their favorite toys, enjoying a moment of rest.
These photos are remarkable! It makes me wonder – if animals (humans) didn’t have to fight or compete over food for survival – the world would be a much friendlier place. This is a really fantastic collection 😀
Great photos! They really cheered me up!
I notice in the picture of the snake and the hamster, the snake’s eyes are glassy. It’s close to shedding, and few snakes will eat when they’re close to shedding. Wonder how long that hamster lasted after the shed, though. My California king snake will leave a mouse for a couple weeks once in a while, but once it sheds and rests up for a day or two, play time is over.
the fox and the hound story was all a lie!
My cat has a mouse as a friend. Ooops, never mind.
Sorry Cheryl competition is reality
Lmao, The pic third one up from the bottom that tiger looks really thrilled to be playing with those four cub (bottom left), I loved these pictures to bad most of these friendships wont last much longer!
I have to wonder how many of those tiger cubs stay friends with “mommy” after they grow up– we see a lot of young cats, but not too many full grown ones. =/
I a lot of these lion and tiger cub pics are bothersome. Especially the circus one and the one with 4 lion cubs and two tiger cubs. They are not playing and looked like they have been backed in a corner of an already too small cage. They don’t look happy at all. In most cases especially circuses big lions and tigers are unpractical. They cost a lot to feed and aren’t exactly your regular house cat. The cubs are used until they are too big to take cute photos with and are often abandoned and neglected. And for the white tigers pictured – zoos and other’s that display animals for money often interbreed white tigers just to get the “look” that people want – but the interbreeding often causes aliments and deformities. Granted some of the pics are cute but I fear the context and the true stories behind some are probably not a gleeful as this post makes it seem.
Our former dog and his bird
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCyXS-E5_8M
I wish my dog and cat can get along well…actually ive been to the Sri Racha tiger zoo, they switched the babies with the mama tiger and the pig
This is funny..
very nice very nice .im iranian.and very joy your pictures.in my language terekondi mean explore
This is what the world needs, unconditional love.
i noticed at least a couple were photo-shopped for sure. which really ruins the whole site for me. and i was really diggin the pics too!
human beings can learn a lot from these animals…. if these creatures who are from different species can live in peace and harmony then why cant the human do the same..
Breeding finches is not as hard as many would think.
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great loved it
I Love All Of Those pictures!!!!!!!!!!! I Didn’t get the baby Hamster and the Snake That Was So Weird
So so cute
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