Lions take care of baby antelopes; baboons befriend chickens. Within the animal kingdom, there have been several examples of animals bonding with others outside their own species. This leaves scientists scratching their heads and asking why.
Here is a series of the most unusual bondings in the wild.
Baboon Adopts Lost Chicken
Mitis, a baboon in a Lithuanian zoo, found companionship after a baby chick, meant for food, wandered into his cage. Mitis immediately took on the chick as if it was his own. “He plays with the chicken, cleans its feathers, sleeps with it, and takes care as if it was his own baby child,” the zoo director said. In the wild, baboons live in close-knit social groups, which may explain Mitis’s need for a companion since he is so far away from his natural habitat.
Leopard Bonds with Baby Baboon
A young leopard, Legadema, hunted and killed a baboon and made a startling discovery as she fed—a baby baboon latching onto her dinner. Onlookers predicted the mighty leopard would feast on the baby as well, but instead, the leopard takes the baby baboon up to safety in a nearby tree. The day-old baby followed the leopard around, perhaps seeking its mother, while the confused leopard tries in vain to take care of the young baboon. Predator and prey no more, these two form a brief bond that would unfortunately not last.
