These 13 unlikely interspecies relationships will warm your heart and have you asking the question, “Why can’t we all be friends?”
1. A Cheetah Cub and Her Labrador Play Pal
Savanna, a cheetah cub at The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, was given a puppy playmate named Max to keep her entertained and provide her with a companion. The energetic pair took to each other instantly and have become the perfect partners in crime. Watch them play together in Savanna’s zoo enclosure here!
2. A Lion, a Tiger and a Bear – Oh My!
Leo (the lion), Shere Khan (the tiger) and Baloo (the bear) were all victims of animal cruelty before they were seized from a drug dealer and brought to Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary in Georgia. Having been together since they were two months old, these unlikely friends are blind to their differences and make the perfect family, spending all of their time together in a shared enclosure.
3. A Baby Monkey and a Pig: YouTube Celebrities
By now, most of you have probably seen this pair in the viral hit “Baby Monkey (Going Backwards On A Pig).” In the adorable video, a baby monkey gets a wild piggyback ride from his porky friend.
4. The Sled Dog and the Polar Bear
When a polar bear first approached Brian Ladoon’s sled dogs in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, and took an interest in one of his huskies in particular, Ladoon feared that the natural enemies would have a conflict. To his surprise, the polar bear just wanted to play, and, lucky for us, photographer Norbert Rosing caught it all on film! The interactions between Ladoon’s dogs and the local polar bears became a regular occurrence. Catch a video of the surprising encounter here.
5. Kate and Pippin
Pippin, a baby fawn, was abandoned on the property of Isobel Springett, and when Isobel took her in, her Great Dane, Kate, adopted her instantly. Since then, Kate and Pippin have formed a bond strong enough to inspire their own book! Learn all about Kate & Pippin: An Unlikely Love Story here.
6. A Cat and His Dolphin Playmates
This cat, Arthur, has no fear of the water nor fear of his two dolphin friends, Shiloh and Thunder. At Theater of the Sea in Islamorada, Florida, these three shocked everyone with their unexpected friendship. Watch the trio play in Theater of the Sea’s hit YouTube video.
7. Themba and Albert
Themba lost his mother when he was six months old and found his surrogate in a sheep named Albert at the Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in South Africa. The two were inseparable and even befriended a baby giraffe before Themba sadly passed away in 2010.
8. Jack Leads Charlie for 16 Years
Jack, a goat, became Charlie’s eyes when the 40-year-old horse lost his vision. The amazing partnership actually saved Charlie’s life on more than one occasion: once when his owners feared that they would have to put him down after he went completely blind, and again when Charlie was caught in bad weather. Watch Jack lead Charlie through 16 years of his life in this “Odd Couples” profile.
9. The Baby Hippo and the Elderly Tortoise
This baby hippo named Owen was orphaned after a tsunami. When he was released into his enclosure at at Haller Park, he was terrified and sought comfort in a 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee, who immediately took him in.
10. A Tiger Adopts Piglets
When a tiger lost her cubs to premature birth, she was given a litter of piglets to fill the void. This unlikely relationship is adorable and proves maternal instincts to be stronger than the divides between species!
11. The Real-Life Fox and the Hound
German shepherd Tinni and red fox Sniffer bring the Disney classic The Fox and the Hound to life. The duo met by chance in a Norwegian forest, and their close bond has even inspired Tinni’s owner, Torgeir Berge, to take a stand against Norway’s fox fur trade. Berge is planning to co-author a book inspired the friendship called The Fox and the Dog.