Animal friendships
Most of us had contact with animals one way or another. We interact with them when going on game drives, zoos, whale and dolphin watching boats or have them as pets. What’s interesting and fascinating with animals is their behavior and similarities to us.
Most similarities between humans and animals are seen in mammals since they nurse their young and live in family groups. Orca’s live with their mothers all their life. Males will leave for periods of time to find females in other pod to mate with, but will then return to his mother. The sons even help their mother and other females in their own pod to raise the calves. Bonds between related animals are understandable. To help your siblings or cousins means helping more of your own genetics to make it in to the future generation.
“What about friendship, can that happen with animals?” Yes it can. In Mingan Island (Canada) female Humpback whales have been seen meeting up each year to eat, float together and enjoy each other’s company. These friendships seem to have benefits as female humpbacks who hang out in this way are healthier and give birth to more calves each year. Friendship has also been seen in elephants, dolphins, chimpanzees and bats. Scientists first believed that friendship can only come with a large brain, but bats have small brains and are creating friendships with certain individuals in their colony.
What’s even more special in the animal kingdom is friendship across species. In zoos and game parks all over the world the unusual friendships between predators and their prey are formed when orphan animals are put together. A particular friendship is seen between a bear, lion and tiger that were rescued from a drug addict. When trying to separate them they all became depressed until they were reunited. In captivity it is special when friendships like this are created, but it’s not strange to see orphans looking for support and closeness with animals around them. While seeing this in wild it’s extraordinary. A cat and fox was seen playing on a beach in Turkey, a fox and dog chase each other in the forest of Norway and a lioness adopted a baby antelope in Uganda after killing and eating its mother. All this cases prove that even though some animals are seen as great enemies they can live together in harmony.