Wild Pals

Many wild animals have shocking relationships, and both sides of the relationship benefit from it. Here are a few shocking facts about animal relationships.

Wolves and ravens. They both do helpful things for one another. An example is in the novel “A Wolf Called Wander”, where the wolf relies on a raven to help him find food. It works like this: ravens fly close to the ground and look around for food like elk. They get smart when they find a big herd with some easy targets. Ravens can only hunt things like mice and small birds, but they don’t just eat those. They lead a wolf or an entire wolf pack to the food, and in return, the wolves will hunt it for them, and they both get food to eat while sharing the work.

Puppies and capybaras. In a wildlife refuge in the United States, a capybara was found with four litters of puppies. However, this capybara was not looking to do any harm. She has ‘mothered’ the puppies. She feeds them and takes care of them, almost as if she were their canine mother. In the wild, capybaras sometimes help take care of other capybaras’ young, so it is assumed that the mothering instincts kicked in for this capybara.

Antelope and giraffe. In a safari park, a sneaky antelope is willing to do anything to hang out with his friend, Camilla the giraffe. He was even caught trying to jump the fence into his friend’s enclosure. This strong relationship started when they were both still infants, and their relationship continued through adulthood. Though Camila thinks that they are just friends, the antelope has been caught trying to mate with the giraffe.

Jaguar and Jack Russel Terrier. In another area, a jaguar and a Jack Russel are persistent pals. In their younger years, they both spent time in the same enclosure and as they grew up, they refused to separate from each other. This was proven when staff attempted to move the jaguar into a different enclosure, and it refused. The duo eat, sleep, and play together in their shared environment.

Huskies and polar bears. In Canada, people noticed something peculiar — a group of huskies and polar bears only a couple of feet from each other. The people watched nervously, fearing a fight; but the animals were being very kind to one another. The people watched in awe as the polar bears and huskies started to play with one another.

Lioness and oryx. Somewhere in Kenya, a lioness was minding her own business when she spotted a young oryx. For those who don’t know, an oryx is an antelope-type creature with two long horns and a horse-like neck. The lioness spotted the oryx on its own and instead of attacking it like her instincts told her, she started caring for it and nurturing it. Unfortunately, the oryx met an ultimate fate, as it is very difficult for a lioness to raise an oryx in the wild.

I hope that you enjoyed learning about these unlikely wild pals!