Sometimes, opposites attract, and this has never been more apparent than by these cute and unusual animal friendships. Sometimes, two different species of animals put aside their differences and become the best of friends. The stories about these unusual animal friendships will melt your heart.
1 Suryia and Roscoe
Suryia and Roscoe’s tale is one of the most common stories you’ll hear about animal friendships and for good reason. Have you seen how cute these two are? One day Suryia went on a walk through the forest with his elephant and human pals, when a stray dog, Roscoe, came out of the forest. Normally, orangutans and dogs don’t have the opportunity to meet, but when Suryia first saw Roscoe, he knew he had found his new best friend. This meeting occurred in 2006 and they have been inseparable ever since. They both live at The Institute of Greatly Endangered Rare Species (TIGERS) in South Carolina. There are books and documentaries about these two if you would like to hear more about their cute and unusual friendship.
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2 Themba and Albert
Themba the elephant’s mom died when he was just a baby. Without his mom, he had no means of eating. The veterinarian’s at Shamwari Game Reserve were hopeful another elephant would adopt him, but this was not the case. The vets tried to feed him themselves, but it was no use. Fearing for his life, they decided to introduce him to Albert the lamb so he could have companionship. While they didn’t immediately hit it off, it wasn’t long before they became the best of friends. Albert took Themba in and it wasn’t long before Themba started eating again. Who would have ever imagined an elephant and a sheep becoming friends? This cute story has a happy ending and ultimately saved Themba's life.
3 Owen and Mzee
Owen is a baby hippopotamus who was displaced after a tragic tsunami in 2005. The villagers of Kenya rescued him and it wasn’t long after that he met Mzee, a 130-year-old Aldabra giant tortoise. Mzee took Owen in and the two became best pals. They do everything together – eat, sleep, and swim. There is a book and documentary about these two so check them out if you would like to see more of this unusual friendship. These two are just so adorable together!
4 Anjana and Mitra and Shiva
Mitra and Shiva, two white tiger cubs, were born in an animal sanctuary, but after a hurricane came through the area, the place flooded and the cubs were separated from their mother. They were moved to TIGERS where they are under the supervision of China York, their human keeper. China has a special helper however, Anjana the friendly chimpanzee. Anjana took Mitra and Shiva in as her own. When they were cubs, she helped feed them and nurture them. If this doesn’t make you say, “Awww!” I don’t know what will.
5 Katjinga and Paulinchen
Roland Adam from Hoerstel, Germany found piglet Paulinchen alone in the forest not long after her mother passed away. Knowing she couldn’t be left in the forest alone, he took her back to his house where his Rhodesian Ridgeback, Katjina, instantly took a liking to the little piggy. Katjinga had just had a litter of puppies not look before and she was more than happy to take on the role of mother to Paulinchen. Katjina would bathe the piglet with her tongue and even began lactating again so that Paulinchen could eat, just as if it were her own baby. This story just melts my heart!
6 Kipper, Geoffrey, and Mi-Lu
When Mi-Lu the deer was born in the Knowsley Safari Park, his mother abandoned him, leaving Mi-Lu to fend for himself. The staff took care of him along with the help of Kipper (pictured above) and Geoffrey, a golden retriever and a lurcher, respectively. The three quickly became friends and do everything together and because of it, we have some pretty cute pictures to admire!
7 Giselle and Finnegan
Debby Cantlon has always had a love for animals, so people who knew her would bring pets who needed care to her home. One day, a friend brought by a baby squirrel (Finnegan) who needed to be nursed back to health before being released back into the wild. Debby was more than happy to take on the responsibility of caring for and bottle-feeding Finnegan, but she soon realized she wouldn’t be handling the responsibility alone. Giselle, her pregnant Papillion, took a liking to the squirrel. Finnegan was kept in a cage, but Giselle would drag the cage over to her, so finally, Debby allowed the squirrel and dog to interact and they bonded quickly. After Giselle gave birth, she allowed Finnegan to nurse alongside her own babies. Finnegan has also found love with his new brothers and sisters.
I just love these cute and unusual animal friendships. There are more photos of these adorable animals on the web and there are plenty of websites that provide updated information on these animal friends, if you haven’t seen enough! Do you know of any other unusual animal pairings we should know about?
