Bizarre friendship frenzy

In the wake of our recent post on unlikely animal friendships, a veritable pandemic of interspecies chumminess has been brought to the attention of Animal News. Be inspired!

tortoise + hippo
An orphaned hippo in kenya has been adopted by a giant tortoise, in a mutually beneficial display of animal friendship. It is said of the tortoise: "motherhood has really brought her out of her shell!"


chimp + tiger cubs
Anjana, a chimpanzee, has adopted two tiger cubs in Florida.



elephant + sheep
From metro:

Themba the abandoned baby elephant has someone to give him that warm, fuzzy feeling at long last – Albert the sheep.

The six-month-old was introduced to Albert, two, after he was orphaned with little hope of survival.

Despite a few teething problems, the two are now best friends, and spend hours playing and cuddling.

dog + monkey
From the New York Post:

It was love at first sight for a puppy and a monkey at a zoo in China.

A worker at the Nanhai Zoo who takes her 6-month-old pooch with her to work noticed the pup and the monkey had an instant attraction.

Now the tiny simian feeds the canine bananas and brushes his hair, and the dog lets his pal ride on his back.

That really is bananas!

dog + kittens
From the wires:

A female dog is nursing a litter of kittens which were orphaned when their mother died in China.

Their owner, Cai, of Jiangmen, said he has been raising cats and dogs together for more than 10 years, and they all got along together well. But this was the first time he had ever seen kittens being nursed by a dog, he told the local Guangzhou Daily.

The four kittens seemed happy and content with their new mother's milk, while the dog was tending to its adopted family with love and care, Cai added.

"Several days ago, the kittens' mother died after eating a poisoned rat, leaving behind a litter of kittens without a source of milk," he said. "The kittens' cries may have stirred the dog's maternal nature, since it too had recently given birth. It volunteered to take over and feed the kittens of its old friend."

The dog's own puppies had been taken away by one of its grown-up offspring. Cai said: "That's perhaps another reason why the dog adopted the kittens. She lost all of her own children."

rabbit + kittens
The BBC reports on Summer the Rabbit, of Aberdeen, who has adopted six three-week old kittens.

Veterinary nurse Melanie Humble says: "the kittens seemed to really like her [Summer] and thought she was their mother. They were trying to get milk from her and climbing over her. And Summer was not bothered by them at all. Summer is five months old and she's gigantic. It is lovely to see them all together."