Is There Friendship Between Animals Of Different Species?
We often see animals playing and interacting with each other and we think it is a friendship, but the concept can go much further than that. Traditionally, scientists are not comfortable talking about a true friendship between animals, but now we know that, according to each species, this relationship takes place in a different way.
A good example of friendship between animals is that we have in primates, which offer an interesting relationship between males and females that goes much deeper than the simple search for a mate to mate.
Curious examples of animal friendships
Bottlenose dolphins, when male, are one of the best examples of possible friendships in the animal world. These aquatic mammals organize themselves in pairs, trios or small groups that can last for several years. They may even help their mates to court a female, out of the curiosity that there is no competition between them.
The case of bats is also significant, because they help each other in a totally disinterested way. If a bat can’t get food for several days and is debilitated, another bat will help by providing some of its food without asking for anything in return.
On many occasions we have seen dogs playing with cats, including being best friends, or a bird and rabbit that surprisingly get along very well. Although it seems strange, friendship between animals is very frequent.
Sometimes what happens is that animals with stress and anxiety, in captivity, could seek solace in other animals. Loneliness can cause lions, dogs, and even elephants, in the absence of members of their own species, to seek social relationships outside of them. And, even, the case of branch paternal relationships is frequent, of animals that adopt offspring of other species, especially in cases where there are no offspring of their own.
Among the best known and most surprising cases is that of Torque, a huge black dog who adopted Shrek, a baby owl, who was only 6 months old. The reason they took Shrek away from his mother was that she was a stress-prone female and there was fear that she would eat her offspring. The dog and the little owl were becoming inseparable friends.
When Dennis’ mother, from a family of ducks, died from an attack by a fox, loneliness seemed to constantly accompany the little duck. But he met Fred, the Labrador retriever who found and rescued Dennis, and the friendship between both the dog and the duck is really surprising.
the chicken and the puppies
After being saved from going to the pot because of a leg injury, a large white hen, Mable, found meaning in her life when two small puppies arrived at the house. The hen sits on top of the chicks to warm them up.
the rabbit and the deer
Another example of this friendship between animals of different species is that which occurs between a deer and a rabbit, which, seen together, look like something out of a Disney movie. Really amazing. Humans should learn a lot from animals, this is evident again and again.
the orangutan and the dog
Source: Dinamalar – World’s No 1 Tamil News Website
Primates, of any species, orangutans, chimpanzees, etc., have a special facility to socialize with other types of animals. For example, the female orangutan Surya and the dog Roscoe live together in an endangered species reserve in the United States.
Apparently, Roscoe has lived with her since Suryia arrived at the reservation. They say that one day the dog appeared there, as if he had nowhere else to go, which is why he stayed with the orangutan and a beautiful friendship developed between them.
A Great Dane and a Deer
Is friendship possible between a large female Great Dane and a female deer? Really yes. Pippín, an orphaned female deer, was adopted by the dog Kate, and between them a great friendship between animals of different species emerged. Although Pippin has become an adult and lives in the woods, from time to time the two animals meet, with human intervention, to remind them of their times of friendship.
