10 Cutest Animal Friendships

Here are the 10 cutest and unlikeliest animal friendships that we could find. These animals are best friends and some animals even adopted other species!

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-- warms the heart like seeing two otherwise biologically incompatible animals cuddle it out. Whether the cat looks after her hamster friend or the dog babysits a flock of parakeets, these unlikely friendships are sure to make even the toughest, emotionless person gush with happiness.

Shere Kahn the tiger, Leo the lion, and Baloo the bear have been inseparable since their rescue. Upon inspection of a drug dealer’s home in Atlanta, police found a lion cub, a bear cub, and a tiger cub that appeared to be kept as pets, but the owner was anything but loving as the three 2-month-old creatures were in horrible condition with the bear requiring surgery to remove a harness that had imbedded into his skin.

No Pork Chops on This Big Cat’s Menu

This mother tiger and her so-called cubs came together after a tragic incident at a zoo in Thailand. The tiger gave birth to three premature tiger cubs, and they passed away shortly after birth, which devastated the tigress.

From African Safari to Barnyard Friend

This unlikely pair came together when an orphaned baby elephant was in need of companionship. Themba the elephant was orphaned at 6 months old when his mother fell down a cliff and died. After his rescue, he refused to nurse from a bottle, so the rehabilitation center introduced him to a Albert the sheep.

Deer Friend

This pair also came together in a desperate time of need. A mother goose laid eggs inside a cemetery urn in New York. Normally, both parent geese make an effort to hatch the eggs, but she was a single mother doing it all on her own. Seeing her desperate need of protection, a local buck began guarding her and her nest, putting himself in harm’s way so that the mother wasn’t stressed out and so that the eggs went untouched by predators. Like any great adoptive father, he stood guard even after they hatched to keep the crows away from the helpless baby birds. Even though one walks on two legs and the other walks on four, this deer crossed the normal biological lines to help out a feathered friend.

The Cat and The Hound

Sahara the Cheetah and Alexa the shepherd dog are proof that you don’t have to fight like cats and dogs. This duo came to be best friends when they were introduced in the Cincinnati Zoo’s Cat Ambassador Program.

The Tortoise and The Hippo

This unlikely pair bonded right when an orphaned baby hippo needed it most. Owen the hippo, named after his rescuer, was retrieved from a coral reef shortly after a tsunami washed out him and his herd members, leaving him stranded.

Some animal just know when others are in need and how to take care of them. That’s just what this dog does. The South African Labrador Lisha has taken care of a plethora of wild animals such as cheetah cubs, pigs, a hippo, and even an owl.

A couple in Massachusetts witnessed the unlikely friendship between a crow and a kitten. After seeing someone toss a kitten over their fence, the couple began feeding her from a distance. They quickly noticed that they weren’t the only ones looking after her.

Honorable Mentions

Torque the dog and Shrek the owl came together when Shrek was removed from her mother after three days due to safety concerns. Torque adopted her as his own and never lets her out of his sight.

Jet the dolphin and Miri the seal became friends when they were introduced at a young age. In the wild, these two would normally be competing for food, but instead, they look beyond their natural instincts and greet each other when Miri walks past Jet’s enclosure.

Finding an abandoned fawn in her yard, Isobel Springett swooped up the abandoned baby deer and placed her in her Great Dane’s dog bed where the two cuddled the remainder of the night.