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CHAPTER 1
{South Africa, 2008}
The African Elephantand The Sheep
AFRICAN ELEPHANT
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Proboscidae
FAMILY: Elephantidae
GENUS: Loxodanta
SPECIES: L. africana
DOMESTIC SHEEP
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Artiodactyla
FAMILY: Bovidae
GENUS: Ovis
SPECIES: Ovisaries
At just six months of age, Themba the elephant suffered a terrible loss: His mother fell off a cliff while moving with their herd through the South African nature reserve where they lived. At such a critical time for mother–son bonding, veterinarians hoped another female in the herd would adopt the baby, but none did. So they decided to find a surrogate outside the elephant family to help Themba.
Staff at the Shamwari Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Eastern Cape had been successful keeping a motherless rhinoceros with a sheep. Hoping for a similar triumph, wildlife managers moved Themba to the Rehabilitation Center and borrowed a domestic sheep named Albert from a nearby farm.
Why a sheep? They might not seem like the brightest of animals, but in truth their intelligence falls just below that of pigs, which are quite smart. They can recognize individuals over the long term, can distinguish between different emotions based on facial expressions, and will react emotionally to familiar faces of various species. So bonding with other kinds of animals might not be so unlikely — especially with elephants, who are unquestionably bright and expressive, and rely heavily on social bonds.
Still, the attempt to pair the two species didn't start out well. When first introduced, Themba chased Albert around the watering hole, flapping his ears and lifting his tail to look as large and threatening as possible. Albert fled, as sheep instinct demands, and hid for hours. Over three days of wary gestures and tentative touches, the pair finally accepted each other, and the result proved well worth the stressful beginning.
"I still remember the day Albert took the first leaves off a tree where Themba was feeding," says Dr. Johan Joubert, the center's wildlife director. "We knew they truly bonded when they started to sleep cuddled up together. I must admit, we were concerned that Themba would lie down on top of Albert and crush him by mistake!"
Once the bond took hold, elephant and sheep were inseparable. They'd nap in tandem, horse around together, and Themba would rest his trunk on Albert's woolly back as they explored their enclosure or went in search of snacks. Though keepers expected Themba to imitate the elder Albert, instead the sheep became the copycat, even learning to feed on Themba's favorite leaves — from a thorny acacia plant not typically part of a sheep's diet.
Johan Joubert and his staff had always planned to reintroduce Themba to his family in the reserve where he was born. But during preparations for his release, Themba became ill from a twisted intestine and veterinarians were unable to save him. He was just two and a half years into what might have been a seventy-year lifespan.
The staff at the wildlife center were heartbroken, though Albert, fortunately, was able to forge new interspecies friendships among the reserve's zebra foals and wildebeest.
{Germany, 2000}
The Asiatic Black Bear and the Black Cat
DOMESTIC CAT
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Felidae
GENUS: Felis
SPECIES: Feliscatus
ASIATIC BLACK BEAR
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Ursidae
GENUS: Ursis
SPECIES: Ursus thibetanus
From the look of things, there's something about these two glossy black mammals with matching perked-up ears and mellow attitudes that just says family. But the smooth-haired domestic cat and the shaggy Asiatic bear share little DNA. Dogs are more closely related to bears than cats are. So in the case of Muschi the cat and Mausschen the bear, blood ties don't bind them. Something else keeps them together.
No one at the Berlin Zoo, where Mausschen has been housed for over forty years, knows where Muschi came from. "We observed her back in 2000 suddenly living in the black bears' enclosure, and she'd struck up a friendship with the old lady bear," says curator Heiner Klös. "It's unusual to see this kind of relationship between two unrelated carnivores, and visitors love to observe them together."
Mausschen is the oldest known female Asiatic bear. She is a member of a medium-sized forest species whose wild habitat includes parts of Afghanistan, the Himalayas, mainland Southeast Asia, the Russian Far East, and Japan. She has spent her life well cared for in captivity. On any given day, she might be seen sprawled out in a bed of hay with Muschi by her side or lying with the cat in the sun, the two absorbing the day's warmth together. They go halves on meals of raw meat, dead mice, and fruit. And during a period of separation, while the bear exhibit was renovated, the cat seemed troubled and waited around until she could be reunited with Mausschen. Zoo staff encouraged the reunion after seeing how content the animals were in concert.
Muschi can come and go from the enclosure as much as she likes, "but she always comes back to the old bear," Klös says. Their unusual relationship has lasted a decade, and there are no signs of a parting.
{California, U.S.A., 2009}
The Bobcat Kitten and The Fawn
CALIFORNIA MULE DEER
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Artiodactyla
FAMILY: Chordata
GENUS: Odocoileus
SPECIES: Odocoileus californicus
BOBCAT
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Felidae
GENUS: Lynx
SPECIES: Lynxrufus
Fire no friend to wildlife. In any given year in California alone, there may be fifty or more big blazes a month that destroy hundreds of acres of habitat, displacing animals by the thousands. Many perish in the flames or after, from stress or dehydration.
But some lucky ones are rescued.
That's what happened to a tiny fawn and a young bobcat during a major fire near Santa Barbara in 2009. It was May, when many animals give birth, so the California forests were filled with wobbly-legged newborns. Other fires had already destroyed vast tracts of wildland that year, so surviving animals were extra vulnerable. The May fire was devastating. When rehabilitators from the Solvang Animal Rescue team picked up a particular young deer, it was weak and wandering in the area where the fire had started, crying and alone.
Because of the number of orphans being rescued, space at wildlife centers was scarce, so the sheriff's department offered its facility as temporary housing.
"We had a tiny kitten, a bobcat, already in a crate there," says Julia Di Sieno, director of the team. "We had rescued him on the governor's property, and the animal needed round-the-clock care. We weren't sure he'd survive." When she brought in the fawn, she found that crates, like rehab space, were in short supply. There was no choice but to put the two young animals together. And that turned out to be just what they needed.
"As soon as we let the fawn in, the bobcat went right over to her, curled up, and went to sleep. They were both so exhausted and weak. They cuddled right up as one." The animals were only together for a couple of hours while rescuers found room for the fawn a few hours away, "but it was such an important time," she says. "It offered them both warmth and comfort, and maybe alleviated their fear and loneliness. It was such a lovely bond."
The rescue group, which on this occasion saved wildlife and domestic animals of all sorts, rehabilitates everything from ducks to foxes and, eventually, releases them into areas where habitat remains intact. After its much-needed rest with its bobcat friend, the fawn was relocated and placed with other fawns so it would grow up with its own kind. Months later, when the fawn was a year old, the deer herd was set free.
"It's funny because a fawn would normally be a nice little morsel of food for a bobcat — an adult bobcat, that is," says Di Sieno. Indeed, the cat, still in captivity for the time being, has since become a stealthy and successful hunter. But under the stress of the fire, the two natural foes found strength in each other. "I'm sure it boosted their morale to be together at that critical time," Di Sieno says.
{Louisiana, U.S.A., 2005}
The Bobtailed Dog and The Bobtailed Cat
DOG
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Canidae
GENUS: Canis
SPECIES: Canis lupus familiaris
According to the Humane Society of the united States, 6 to 8 million stray dogs and cats end up in animal shelters each year. Of these, approximately half are euthanized.
When Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, Louisiana, in August 2005, thousands of pet owners were forced to rush to high ground without their animals. Most left food and water to tide their pets over, expecting to collect them within a day or two. But few were able to return home, and at least 250,000 domestic animals were suddenly on their own.
Scores of pets died. Many hit the streets, relying on their most basic instincts to survive. Some joined packs for protection. These two found each other.
The dog, a female, had a bobbed tail. So did the cat, a male. The dog had been tied up but had broken away, and a few links of chain still hung down from around her neck. The cat followed the clinking strand as it dragged on the ground. They were likely wandering the city that way for many weeks. No one knows if they shared a home before the storm, but when a construction worker first took an interest in the animals, they were clearly together. In fact, the dog was quite protective of her feline friend, growling if anyone got too close to him.
Rescuers from Best Friends Animal Society brought the pair to a temporary shelter in Metairie, a New Orleans suburb, and named them Bobbi and Bob Cat, for the cropped tails.
"We were set up to house dogs and cats separately," says the sanctuary's Barbara Williamson, who handles media relations and also helped watch over the two Bobbies after their capture. "But Bobbi wasn't having it. She had a piercing bark that would go right through you. And as long as they were separated, she got very upset and loud." So the volunteers cobbled together a cage inside a longer cage, to give the animals access to each other without taking a chance on either getting hurt. "As long as Bobbi was near her kitty, she was calm," Barbara says.
The discovery that Bob Cat was fully blind, probably since birth, made the animals' relationship all the more touching. Bobbi the dog had truly been leading him and keeping him safe. "You could tell by the way she managed his movements," Barbara says. "She'd bark at him, as if telling him when to go and when to stop. She'd bump her hind end against him, herding him the right way. It was incredible to watch." Despite his handicap, Bob Cat "was very confident, almost regal," Barbara says, "while Bobbi was more of a clumsy teenager. The contrast was a riot."
News about the dog–cat duo quickly got out through the media, and Best Friends found just the right person to take these special animals. But sadly, not long after the adoption, Bob Cat became ill and died. The new owners decided the best medicine for the dog was to bring another rescue cat into the household, and they found one that, coincidentally, had a cropped tail. Bobbi the dog accepted the new feline right away.
"For me, the Bobbies demonstrated the depth of feelings animals can have for one another," says Barbara.
Luckily, that emotional depth does at times include humans. The pet salvage operation after Katrina was one of the largest ever accomplished following a natural disaster. Caring volunteers and rescue organizations worked tirelessly to help find new homes for thousands of animals.
{California, U.S.A., 2009}
The Cheetahs and the Anatolian Shepherds
CHEETAH
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Felidae
GENUS: Acinonyx
SPECIES: Acinonyx jubatus
ANATOLIAN SHEPHERD
A guardian breed known for its loyalty and independence, Anatolian shepherds originated in turkey more than 6,000 years ago.
In the African Country of Namibia, where farmers and ranchers eke out a living on parched sandy soils, the cheetah is no friend to man. Livestock is a big and tasty temptation to the wild cats, especially during times of drought, when natural prey on the savanna is scarce. And when cheetahs come after livestock, people often shoot them, driven to protect their valuable resource.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund came up with an inspired alternative: offer dogs to farmers to be raised as guardians of the flocks. Anatolian shepherds, first bred in central Turkey thousands of years ago, were chosen for the job. The dogs are big and loyal, and know how to scare off an already skittish cat like a cheetah. (Wild cheetahs face formidable foes in nature; their ability and readiness to sprint is their best defense.) Keeping the cheetahs from preying on sheep and goats protects them from farmers' bullets and helps take the stain off their reputation — both good strategies for keeping the species around in the future. The program has been wildly successful.
Now, here's a neat little twist: At zoos in the United States, those same shepherd dogs are being brought in not to chase cheetahs away, but to be their best friends.
"We've found so many benefits to pairing young cheetahs with domestic dogs," says Kim Caldwell, animal training manager at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Foremost, as they grow up together, the dog is a security blanket for this animal that's hardwired to be cautious, she says. Body language is key, and the dog — calm, loving, and adaptable — helps the cheetahs to relax and accept unfamiliar situations. That makes life less stressful for both the animals and the trainers. "Cheetahs respond differently to us than to another four-legged furry animal with a wagging tail," Kim says. "A dog will lick the cheetah's ears, let it pounce, and chew on him. Better to give the cats a 130-pound dog as a toy than one of us. That way they can really wrestle and play together, which is an important part of learning and socialization."
The San Diego Zoo and Safari Park have also used various mixed-breed pups in their cheetah program, but the shepherds are the best fit. "Some mutts can be just unstoppable," Kim says. The shepherds are very mellow as puppies. Though always ready to roughhouse, they'll also lie down like a big rug and groom or be groomed — which cheetahs do a lot of the time. "Remember," Kim says, "while most dogs could play twenty-four hours a day, cats want to sleep for twenty of those!" The animals do have some time apart, and they always eat separately. "Dogs inhale and cats chew," Kim says, so feeding time is where aggression could occur. But once a happy pairing is made between puppy and kitten, "they're companions for life."
{Georgia, U.S.A., 2008}
The Cockatoo and The Cat
WHITE COCKATOO
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Aves
ORDER: Psittaciformes
FAMILY: Cacatuidae
GENUS: Cacatua
SPECIES: Cacatuaalba
Scratch a cat behind the ears and make a friend for life. But what if the one doing the scratching has feathers, a beak, and bird feet? That doesn't seem to bother Lucky, a young stray cat that was fortunate enough to be rescued by Libby Miller and Gay Fortson of Savannah, Georgia. After his adoption, Lucky found himself cohabitating with Coco, a brash and outspoken cockatoo that took to the feline with a gentle claw.
Coco was perched on the foot of the owners' sleigh bed one morning, and Lucky, who had not yet met the bird up close, must have been hiding under the bed. When Libby came into the room, "there they were, together on the bed." She worried for a moment that one would hurt the other, but "Coco was being so gentle! She rubbed Lucky with one foot, then walked back and forth over her head — which Lucky didn't seem to mind at all." Libby grabbed her camera and recorded the strange interaction. The video eventually made it to the Internet and has since gone viral. "People all around the world love seeing how they get along," she says.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Unlikely Friendships"
by .
Copyright © 2011 Jennifer S. Holland.
Excerpted by permission of Workman Publishing.
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