33 Oddest Animal Couples

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.

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