Animal Friendships: Mr. G and Jellybean

Have you seen the news story about the goat Mr. G and the burro Jellybean?

1013879_10203011334717380_1774436747123978895_n
(Animal Place)

Mr. G and Jellybean were rescued from a neglectful owner in Southern California who kept them in a tiny pen without shade and with little water and food. However, the rescue did not make them happier. The animals were separated and taken to different rescue centers. Mr. G was healthy but perplexed staff when he lied down in a corner of his enclosure and refused to move or eat for six days.

mr. g sma (1 of 1)
(Animal Place)

The staff at Animal Place quickly realized that he was grieving the loss of his female friend Jellybean and decided to do something about it. One of their volunteers drove for hours to retrieve Jellybean from the rescue center she was at and brought her to Mr. G. The goat instantly brightened up, acted excited, and soon began to eat again. Watch the video below to see how excited the friends were to be reunited. Mr. G and Jellybean will never be separated again!


(Animal Place/First Spark Media)

This story demonstrates that animals do form friendships, or at least bonds strong enough to deserve to be called friendship. Mr. G was willing to go without food, possibly to starve to death, over losing Jellybean. I admire the animal sanctuary workers who took it upon themselves to make the situation right and reunite the pair.

Animal Place is a sanctuary in California that rescues farm animals from all types of farming situations (which they house and/or adopt out) and to educate the public about these animals and their needs. They have a 600 acre sanctuary in Grass Valley CA and a 60 acre animal shelter in Vacaville CA. The sanctuary in Grass Valley is a forever home for rescued animals and a great place to visit. You can go see the approximately 300 animal residents and learn about what happens to many animals in the farming industry (they do promote a vegan lifestyle, so be aware that they don’t support animal farming in any way for food). The animal shelter in Vacaville is called Rescue Ranch and there they rescue, rehabilitate and then re-home farm animals. They focus on chicken rescue by working with egg farmers to provide a life for chickens after they stop laying instead of slaughter for meat. This shelter is not open to the public. Animal Place fits into a unique place to help animals that previously had few supporters. Check out their website for more information or pay them a visit if you live in or will be near Grass Valley CA.

-Fizz

Lion and Dog, Friends Forever

After my previous article about animal friendships, I found the friendship of a Lion named Bonedigger and a Dachshund named Milo truly inspiring.

Just look at them together:
article-2330367-19F8DB2D000005DC-345_634x454

Bonedigger has a metabolic bone disease which has left him slightly crippled. Milo, and a couple other Dachshunds, seemed to recognize his disability and took to him to protect him as part of their pack. Milo has been with the lion since he was a cub, so they have a special relationship to the point that Milo will even groom him. All of these animals live at the G.W. Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood Oklahoma.

The pictures alone are simply amazing! Such a big cat with such small dogs, sharing in mutual grooming and even eating together!

article-2330367-19F8DA15000005DC-873_634x537

article-2330367-19F8DB3A000005DC-924_634x500

article-2330367-19F8DB47000005DC-223_634x435

I think it can be easily said that animals form friendships. Such a small dog would seem like an easy snack for a lion, but instead they are living together in a way in which is enriching for both.

article-0-19F8DAE3000005DC-231_634x459

Even more intriguing is the story of Bonedigger’s keeper, John Reinke. He used to be a professional bungee jumper but ended up losing both of this legs to an accident from the sport and now works with big cats. You can read his story at NewsOK.

Reinke with Bonedigger and Milo:
article-2330367-19F8DB9B000005DC-267_634x431
(all pictures from the dailymail)

If you are ever near the G.W. Exotic Animal Park you should pay these unique animals a visit!
– Fizz Pig

Animal Friendship: Dog and Cheetah

At Busch Gardens in Florida zookeepers embarked on a strange journey. They had a new 8 month old male Cheetah cub (now named Kasi), but no other cheetah cubs. For the animal to have a companion they introduced the cub to a puppy, a 16 week old rescued lab mix (now named Mtani). The animals developed a friendship, learning how to communicate together. At first they spent only supervised time together, and now they live and travel together all the time.

0425787571_170870a_8col(image source)

Here is a video of them together as babies:

Now that they are older, Busch Garden uses them to help educated the public about Cheetahs, rescuing exotic animals, and the importance of rescuing domestic animals like Mtani. The two can be seen on display in their enclosure at the Cheetah Run. They do actually run the cheetahs (and Mtani) using a lure system that pulls a lure along the ground on a line. If you visit make sure to find out what time the Cheetahs will run because it is something to see!

Here are Kasi and Mtani all grown up:
kasi-mtani_-550x387(image source)

A video of them on their first year anniversary, explaining the relationship and showing off their running skills:

Do animals have the capacity for friendship? I never really thought otherwise until I realized most biologists studying animals have only recently considered the idea worth studying. Of course, animals do not communicate or express emotions the same way people do. Even if it were flawlessly possible to prove what an animal is thinking or “emoting” it would not always be for the same reasons we do. That does not make what they experience any less, only different. But if you have ever owned an animal you can see each has their own personality and seems to display love, affection, or “friendship.”

A human animal relationship in and of itself is already an inter-species relationship that demonstrates the ability of an animal to bond with a creature not like itself. Inter-species friendships are especially interesting because I think it does point to the ability or desire of an animal to be with others, even if not the same species. Most often these relationships occur when humans have intervened – at animal preserves, zoos, or even in your own home (dogs and rabbits for example). Yes, we placed the animals in those situations but they could just as easily decide to not remain in a relationship (your dog eating your pet rabbit for example). These relationships might occur less frequently in nature because they would be hard to find and observe, and because it is probably much more rare for an animal to not have another of its own kind to bond with.

Do you think that animals experience friendship?

-Cola Pig