Penguin befriends stuffed toy; rhino pals up with rabbit

In the world of bizarre animal friendships, not since an elephant got chummy with a pig have we seen such an odd pairing as this:



Real life penguin Pingu is blissfully content in his friendship with a £3.99 stuffed toy.

The new found friends are more similar in appearance to characters from a Wallace & Gromit plot than to his real life siblings - but this does not seem to be a problem for big-hearted Pingu, who is willing to accept the stuffed toys without prejudice.

In related news, Umquali the Rhino has developed an unlikely friendship with Robby the Rabbit. According to one zookeeper: "It's not clearly whether their relationship is purely platonic or whether Umquali really has the horn for Robby."