A monkey that plays with a tiger, a leapord that gets on with a little girl, a dog that is friends with a fawn... What is all this?
REASON 1
They are just trusting
"When the brain of a young animal is developing" she explains, "there's a socialization period when the animal can be near any other animal without being afraid. So a mouse is not frightened of being near a snake or a lion, because it doesn't know that it's dangerous".
Animals that come into contact with each other during their socialization period can play together lick each other, sleep together , protect each other from danger, etc.
REASON 2
Mum seeks baby
IUn the case of mammals, there could be another explanation for friendships between anmals of different species: the maternal instinct.
"If fammale loses her babies, the maternal instinct can make her adopt a baby of any spacies", says Ms Boouchar. "For example, a lioness can take care of a young antelope as if it ws her own baby.
When a famale becomes a mother, her body produces a hormone, oxytocin, wich helps her to produce milk and become attached to her babies.
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