There are some people that still believe that animals are just dumb beasts, but the unlikely animal friendships we’ve gathered here will prove that they are capable of feeling love and compassion just like we are.
Naturally, all of these pictures are heart-breakingly adorable, but there’s more to it than that. Why did these animals form their friendships? Some of them, like the lions, dogs and elephants, are known for forming strong social relationships or even networks in the wild.
In the absence of their prides or packs, it makes sense that they would seek social relationships outside of their own species.
Other more solitary animals may form parent-child relationship with animals that they spend time with or that helped raise them, especially if their own parents are gone.
Whatever the reason may be, unusual friendships like these show that animals may be far more emotionally complex than many of us believe. Maybe these friendships aren’t so unusual after all!
Naturally, all of these pictures are heart-breakingly adorable, but there’s more to it than that. Why did these animals form their friendships? Some of them, like the lions, dogs and elephants, are known for forming strong social relationships or even networks in the wild.
In the absence of their prides or packs, it makes sense that they would seek social relationships outside of their own species.
Other more solitary animals may form parent-child relationship with animals that they spend time with or that helped raise them, especially if their own parents are gone.
Whatever the reason may be, unusual friendships like these show that animals may be far more emotionally complex than many of us believe. Maybe these friendships aren’t so unusual after all!
Horace the cat with two tiny owlets
A Bengal tiger and cougar cubs sit with a German shepherd at a veterinarian's house in Sydney
A baby monkey, a lion cub and tiger cubs play at the Guaipo Manchurian Tiger Park in Shenyang, Liaoning Province
Auan, a 7-year-old female cat, shares a meal with Jeena, a 3-year-old male mouse, at a farmer's house in the central province of Phichit, 450 km (281 miles) north of Bangkok
1-year-old baby hippopotamus gets close to his adopted mother, a giant male Aldabran tortoise, at Haller Park in Mombasa
Greg Pike's dog Booger, his cat Kitty and his white mice, all named Mousie, wait outside a restaurant in Bisbee, Arizona
A mouse rides on the back of a frog in floodwaters in the northern Indian city of Lucknow
A black swan feeds carps at a wildlife park in Shenzhen, in south China's Guangdong province
A dog feeds a piglet in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province
A monkey sleeps next to a dog at Lacor camp for internally displaced persons in northern Uganda
A cat nurses a puppy near the town of Mamurras, 50 km (31 miles) from Tirana. The cat, which had lost her kitten, started caring for the puppies after their mother was killed by a car.
Fourteen inch tall Einstein, a minature horse, plays with St. Bernard Hannah (L) in a field in Barnstead, New Hampshire
Keow Wan, a four-month-old Sun Conure parrot, perches on Yim, a dog whose name means smile in Thai, as their owners take part in a pray for peace ceremony at Royal Plaza in Bangkok. The owners dressed up the dog and the parrot and put the two together to bring joy and happiness to all who see the pair.
A dog rests on a buffalo near Ravi River in Lahore
A wise old owl and a little duckling have formed a cute friendship.
if only humans could be like this it would be a better world to live in
They all look so cute....