Animals teach us that no words need to be exchanged for a beautiful friendship to be born. This might make one wonder whether communication is really necessary to establish a friendship. And it sure is! Communication is not just limited to verbal exchange or the presence of language. In fact, all members of the Animalia kingdom (humans included) use similar communication tools. Hence, it should come as no surprise that some unlikely animal friendships can be formed between creatures that look or behave nothing alike!
And although unlikely friendships can also form between humans (opposites attract, right?), we must admit that unusual animal friendships, which occur between two or more different animal species, are way more fascinating to observe. It's relatively self-explanatory why. First, we see animals — it's an immediate upvote. Second, it's not every day that you see a dog snuggling with a duck or a piglet hanging out with a baby goat! But seriously, how come these little beasts just come around one another and decide, "aight, you and me, we hang out now"? And honestly, whether it's an unlikely animal friendship between two different species or a cute animal friendship formed between household pets, the sight of these furry, scaly, or feathery friends hanging out together is simply adorable. Cuteness overload!
You probably already know how we feel about cute animals here at Bored Panda *cough cough, obsessed*, so don't be surprised we've scoured the internet to find as many photos as possible featuring these amazing animal friendships. If any of these adorable animal friendship photos brought a smile to your face, make sure to give those an upvote. Do you have a picture of your pets chilling or having zoomies together? If so, please share it in the comments because we'd love love love to see it!
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My Dog Is Teaching My Kitten How Weekends Work
Capybara: You've Got To Be Kidding Me
I see a capy, I upvote. I should be allowed to do two cuz I also upvote goats.
I Had My Cat Years Before I Brought My Husky Into The Family And I Swear He Thinks He’s His Son
These Two, Who Are Clearly Up To No Good
Now This Was An Unexpected Friendship
A Friend Of Mine Has A Golden Retriever That Recently Made A New Friend
A Cheetah And His Companion Dog Have Grown Up Together
Friends Growing Up Together
Two Buddies I Took A Picture Of In Paris
Immediately Accepted
Sun’s Out, Tongue’s Out
The Mythical Cerberus Puppy Has Appeared! You Must Give It Treats To Pass, Or You Risk Getting Kisses
Find Yourself A Dog Who Looks At You Like This
My Girlfriends Horse Got A New Friend
My 6 Mo Lion Head, And 1 Year Old Rescue. They Are Inseparable
Stanley (Left) And Aayla Are Good Friends
Cat And Bunny
“What Kind Of Pupper Is This?”
Awhh Look At Them Giving Boop To Each Other! So Cute
I Think They Finally Love Each Other
These Two Are Always Together At Freedom Farm Sanctuary
Unlikely Big Spoon
“I Guess I’ll Share My Crate With You”
They’re Holding Paws In Their Sleep
I Don't Have Any Cats
Cheek Pickpocket
This Same Pigeon Has Been Visiting My Cat Almost Every Day For Over A Year. When My Cat Is Not At The Window The Pigeon Coos Until She Come Over
Animal Friendship
My Boy Is All Stitched Up And Kitty Refuses To Leave His Side
Was Told You'd All Love This
Mom?
Cat has that look on their face, like “Wait. I don’t remember ever getting THAT drunk—-or is that because I actually DID get THAT drunk? Oh s**t.”
I'm Convinced These Two Do Actually Love Eachother
Would You Be Duckling Or Doguinho?
Dog Sneaks Away From Home To Befriend Wild Deer
This Adventure Duo Is Way Cooler Than I'll Ever Be
I Know There Are A Lot Of 2 Different Kinds Of Animals Friendships But The Golden Acting Like A Mom To This Baby Just Amazes Me
Can You Guess Who Is Enjoying The Attention And Who Isn’t?
These Two Babies Were Cuddling Just Like This For Hours Today, They're Best Friends
Even Seen A Cat And A Bird Be Friends?
Wishing You A Nice Day
Wanda The Dog And Hall And Oates
"Holland is his first name and Oates is his last name." - Charlie Kelly
Too Different To Be Friends? I Don’t Think So
Are My Cat And My Dog Dating?
Modjadji And Daisy
Modjadji is so sweet and gentle and loves to cuddle. She is always so affectionate with little Daisy but today she came up to caregiver Will and just lent in for a hug.
Snuggle Buddies Come In All Sizes
Wilbur (The Pig) And Hazel (The Goat) Grew Up Together. They Love To Cuddle
Aspen And Mildred, A Different Love Story
My Friend's Bearded Dragon Likes To Cuddle With Her Two Cats
Best Friends
Guinea Pigs With Their Coordinating Cats
New Cat Is Finally Starting To Accept My Pup. I'm Hopeful That This Will Be A Beautiful Friendship
My Four Dogs This Morning On My Personal Stairway To Heaven
Just A Chicken And A Donkey
Sharing The Bed
Pumpkin The Prairie Dog When She Was Around The Cats Loved Her
My Cat Nemo And Princess Luna
Two Pals Hang Out On The Playground
My Dog And Her "Puppies"
Let doggo tend to her "pups" while you clean that nasty fish tank. Poor fishies!
My Cat, Dinah, And Her Bunny, Winchester
Dog Mum Adopted A Deer Pup
The Most Wholesome Friendship
Animal Friendships
Ophelia And Sweetpea Never Paid Any Attention To Each Other Until The Day After Ophie's Bonded Mate Unfortunately Passed. Now They're Best Friends!
Lounging With My Brother
Kingsley Loves Visiting The Girls And They Queue Up To Give Him Kisses
Using His Big Sister To Peak At My Sandwich
Pittie And A Pomchi
When You Need A Friend To Give You A Ride Somewhere
Tucker (Navy-Man) And Neville (Workaholic), My Two Handsome Good Boys
Just A Crow And His Canines
My Puppy And My Parakeet Having A Staring Contest
"Like A Turtle, You Need To Stick Your Neck Out To Make Progress." — Anna Olson
I Love Watching My Dogs And Chickens Run Around The Yard Together Enjoying Their Day
I Want To Eat... Err Meet The Spiky Thing
We Colour Code Our Animals
Custard Tart
Heron And Crow Helping Each Other Eat
What Are The Two Thinking?
Best Friends
Family Breakfast Time
The Middle One Is The Mom Of The Other Two, Her Name Is Cookie
And the one in the left, his name is Cookie Jr. and the one on the right is a girl, her name is Brownie, absolutely polite little puffballs.
Sleeping Side By Side
What Are You Lookin' At?
Callie Making Friends With One Of The Stable Chickens
Hansel And Gretta. These Two Are Inseparable
Buddies
When Your Friends Take Too Long To Come Outside And Play, It's Time To Take Matters Into Your Own Wings
Penny Is The Newest Addition To The Family And We're Very Lucky She Bonded With Moose So Quickly And To The Extent That She Did
I Got All My Babies In One Picture
Sonar Ears, Unlikely Friends Edition!
Zeus Loved All Babies
Friends Come In All Sizes
I’m Tired! These Animals Always Try To Eat My Toad’s Food
Macaroon And Ariel
Angus And Rosey Are Always Lounging, Playing, And Running Around Together
Ok Seriously Lyanna, You Are Not A Chicken. Please Leave The Broody Alone So She Can Hatch Her Eggs In Peace
A family is a family is a family. Sometimes your family is a ragtag collection of oddballs, but I bet you love each other way more than actual blood relatives do. What I’m trying to say is that dogs will form their packs from any creature living in the same home, even if they’re not a dog. I have experience of this. I’ve always had cats. My husband always had dogs, but learned to love cats by spending time with mine when we were first together (Mary and Ringo were their names, I really do miss them a lot). About 10-11 years ago, I was driving home from work during a really bad heatwave, when I saw a pitiful-looking little dog on the side of the road. So I stopped, and asked him if he wanted to come home with me, and he walked right up to me and basically said yes. I scooped him up and took him home. I know he would’ve been dead from the extreme heat and humidity, or from being hit by a car, by the same time next day. Anyway, that was when Scruffy came to live with us. He wasn’t fixed, and he was just skin and bones, full of matted hair, and his nails were so long they were curling and crossing over each other. The vet said he was older than 3, which is the limit for them giving a more accurate estimate of their age, so we really never knew his real age. We estimated maybe 4 or 5, but he could’ve been as old as 9 or 10. He did start really going gray within 4 or 5 years, so probably was older than our estimate. We didn’t already have a dog (never did get another one, though we thought about it), so right from the get-go, the cats and my husband and I were Scruffy’s pack, and he was so protective of us that he would have sacrificed his own life to protect us. As far as the yard was concerned, it was his, and Scruffy did NOT tolerate any other animal crossing it without his express permission! Scruffy passed on a couple months ago, after two of our older cats passed on within a year of each other, one about a month before Scruffy (Love you and miss you terribly, Cruff-Cruff!). Three pets dying within a little over a year, even if of old age and fully expected and accepted, is just a lot of little deaths to go through. Scruffy went downhill fast. Less than 24 hours. before he died, he was acting totally normal. But we knew he was old, probably way older than we thought. At least his last 10 years were happy, loving, safe, and kinda spoiled (well-deserved, though), and he loved us for loving him, and looking after him so diligently. (Sorry for such a long comment.)
A family is a family is a family. Sometimes your family is a ragtag collection of oddballs, but I bet you love each other way more than actual blood relatives do. What I’m trying to say is that dogs will form their packs from any creature living in the same home, even if they’re not a dog. I have experience of this. I’ve always had cats. My husband always had dogs, but learned to love cats by spending time with mine when we were first together (Mary and Ringo were their names, I really do miss them a lot). About 10-11 years ago, I was driving home from work during a really bad heatwave, when I saw a pitiful-looking little dog on the side of the road. So I stopped, and asked him if he wanted to come home with me, and he walked right up to me and basically said yes. I scooped him up and took him home. I know he would’ve been dead from the extreme heat and humidity, or from being hit by a car, by the same time next day. Anyway, that was when Scruffy came to live with us. He wasn’t fixed, and he was just skin and bones, full of matted hair, and his nails were so long they were curling and crossing over each other. The vet said he was older than 3, which is the limit for them giving a more accurate estimate of their age, so we really never knew his real age. We estimated maybe 4 or 5, but he could’ve been as old as 9 or 10. He did start really going gray within 4 or 5 years, so probably was older than our estimate. We didn’t already have a dog (never did get another one, though we thought about it), so right from the get-go, the cats and my husband and I were Scruffy’s pack, and he was so protective of us that he would have sacrificed his own life to protect us. As far as the yard was concerned, it was his, and Scruffy did NOT tolerate any other animal crossing it without his express permission! Scruffy passed on a couple months ago, after two of our older cats passed on within a year of each other, one about a month before Scruffy (Love you and miss you terribly, Cruff-Cruff!). Three pets dying within a little over a year, even if of old age and fully expected and accepted, is just a lot of little deaths to go through. Scruffy went downhill fast. Less than 24 hours. before he died, he was acting totally normal. But we knew he was old, probably way older than we thought. At least his last 10 years were happy, loving, safe, and kinda spoiled (well-deserved, though), and he loved us for loving him, and looking after him so diligently. (Sorry for such a long comment.)