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Unlikely mothers: Adoption in the animal world National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer S. Holland shares photos and stories of unlikely animal pairs that share a parent-child relationship from her book, “Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom .”
Mare and Fawn
During the first week of June, Bob Muth happened to be looking out the kitchen window and noticed a white-tailed deer giving birth in the barnyard. The coyotes also noticed. And it quickly became clear that they were intent on getting the fawn away from its mother. "I ran out to 'interfere' with nature," but before he could do anything, Bonnie stepped in. Bob watched in awe as Bonnie, a Morgan Quarter horse, got between the coyotes and the fawn, then positioned herself over the fawn to protect it. And to his relief, with Bonnie towering over the tiny animal, the coyotes gave up and moved on. With the danger passed, Bonnie nickered softly and leaned down to lick the newborn as if she herself had just dropped a foal, nudging the baby into a standing position.
Bob Muth
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Elephant and Sheep
Six-month-old baby elephant Themba was close to death after being orphaned and abandoned by his herd. Unable to care for himself or feed himself, the little elephant was wasting away when observers from the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve took the difficult decision to rescue him. However, it was still touch and go whether the young elephant would pull through until Albert the sheep came to the rescue. With a companion to share things with, Themba soon started to recover and the two are now firm friends who do everything together. The ultimate aim is to reintegrate Themba back into a wild herd when he is old enough. Until then his carers take great pains to teach him normal elephant behavior, and wherever Themba goes Albert is never far behind.
Caters News Agency
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Rex USA
Owl and Greyhound
Shrek was born at the Ringwood Raptor and Reptile Centre in Hampshire's New Forest (UK), but was taken away after she hatched because it was feared that her inexperienced mother may eat her. Six-month-old dog Torque became an adoptive father to Shrek, the tiny baby owl. You can find them both lounging on the sofa: a dog with an owl perched between paws. Oh, and they both enjoy watching TV.
Solent News
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Rex USA
Dachshund and Piglet
Pink was the runt of the litter by all measures, but in many ways, the pig born on a bed of straw in West Virginia was lucky. He weighed less than a pound, eyes sealed shut and frail, when owner Johanna introduced Pink to Tink, a small red dachshund. Tink had given birth to two pups herself recently and one had been stillborn. Distressed at the loss, Tink tucked Pink in amongst her own. Johanna says, "Tink treated him like royalty; I think he was actually her favorite."
Johanna Kerby
Daschund and Piglet
Pink huddles next to Tink. But this wasn't the only time Tink was introduced to pigs. Years earlier, Tink had rounded up piglets and started licking them even thought they were, at 25 pounds, much bigger than she was. Owner Johanna says, "Tink didn't care. She was so happy and wiggly — she had a great big grin on her face."
Johanna Kerby
Macaque and Cat
Anne Young was on vacation visiting the Sacred Monkey Forest in Bali. "The pair had been together a few days, and whenever the park staff tried to capture the kitten, it would just run back to the monkey," Anne says. The macaque, a young male, would groom his feline friend, hug and nuzzle it, and even lay his head on the kitten’s head as if it were a pillow.
Anne Young
Macaque and Cat
The macaque became wary of all the primates around him, and if other macaques or people got too close, he would try to hide his prize — once even using a bit of leaf to cover it — or climb higher or move deeper into the forest with the kitten in his arms. The kitten, meanwhile, had plenty of opportunities to escape the macaque’s clutches, "but it made no attempt whatsoever," Anne Young says.
Anne Young
Rottweiler and Wolf
Little nipper Beldaran, an 8-week-old baby wolf weighing just five pounds, was adopted by Ulrok, an 18-month-old male Rottweiler, when Beldaran was just four days old at the Kisma Preserve in Mt. Desert, Maine. Beldaran’s parents had rejected her. Since then, the unlikely pair has been inseparable. Both are rescue animals, and spend all of their time together at the reserve where they are cared for at the sanctuary. Ulrok, whose breed is known for its herding and guarding instincts, has now offered his parenting services to numerous animals at the facility, including tiger cubs, a baby gibbon and an injured leopard tortoise.
Barcroft
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FAME
Papillion and Squirrel
Finnegan fell. It was a 40-foot tumble from his family nest high in the tree, yet somehow the tiny squirrel survived the landing. His future, which looked pretty bleak on the way down, turned brighter when a woman found him squealing at the base of the trunk. That woman was Debby Cantlon, who had a papillon named Mademoiselle Giselle. Maddie, for short, was round with pups. And perhaps because of her impending motherhood, the dog was oddly drawn to the unfamiliar squirming creature her owner had brought home. "I went on an errand," Debby recalls, "and when I got back, the kennel was empty." Turns out Maddie had pulled the swaddled squirrel through the dining room, down the hall, into the bedroom, and parked it next to her own bed. "She was there, guarding that squirrel like it was her own."
Dean Rutz
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The Seattle Times
Pit bull, Cat and Chicks
Chicks dig Sharky, the pit bull. The tiny cotton puffs perch on this back, peck at his snout, and use him as a raft in the pool. They’re also strangely fond of a Siamese-snowshoe cat called Max, who noses them into line. And Max and Sharky, well, since the cat put the dog in his place with a paw slap or two, they’ve gotten along better than fine.
Helen J. Arnold
Piglet and Rhodesian Ridgeback
One cold night in 2009, Roland Adam of Hoerstel, Germany, discovered a pair of recently born pigs on his 20-acre property. One had already died of exposure and the other was a squirming handful of pinkish skin, chilled to the core, barely alive. Sure that the surviving baby would die from cold or hunger, or would be snatched by foxes before morning, Roland tucked it under his sweater and brought it to the house he shared with Katjinga the Rhodesian ridgeback. The piglet became little Paulinchen, and Roland decided to hand her off to his dog, who had recently weaned her own litter of pups. It was a good move. Katjinga gave the piglet the soft-puppy treatment, keeping her clean and warm. A few days later, with pig and hound getting along like mother and son, Roland discovered Paulinchen’s birth mother with the rest of her litter, all healthy. He thanked Katjinga for her service and returned the lost baby to the pig family, which eagerly accepted her.
Barcroft
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Fame
"Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom" by Jennifer S. Holland
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Workman Publishing Company
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