Awww....animals raising babies of another species...everlasting thread!

rebel8

Ever since I saw a video of a crow feeding and nurturing a feral kitten, I've been fascinated by stories of animals who raise babies of another type of animal. So here begins my official repository of these stories! Feel free to add any others you know of--humans raising house pets doesn't count!

Most recent one I heard of--a chimp raising white tigers. She has also raised other big cats.

BabaYaga

That slideshow on your link is gorgeous!

Next up is Owen and Mzee, the giant tortoise and the baby hippo...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4754996

Marjorie

Oh, so cute (squeal)!

parakeet

I'm unable to post photos here, but on TV I've seen dogs raising tigers (up to a certain size anyway; after that, the dogs are lunch) and cats raising chicks (as in chickens).

Even more amazing to me is when prey animals chase off their attackers. I saw a show last year that had footage of a pride of lionesses that had brought down a wildebeest. They were busy choking it to death and chewing on it, when, unbelievably, a pack of a dozen or so other wildebeests approached the lions and drove them off. The injured animal got up and rejoined the herd. To face down a predator that terrifies them in order to save one of their own is, to me, an incredible display of courage and compassion.

Several years ago, I saw a show about a dairy farmer in England who liked to pet his cows and give them treats. One day, while the farmer was mowing grass, his nasty-tempered bull charged him and injured him badly. His cows immediately came to his aid, forming a circle around him to protect him from further harm. The farmer was able to crawl, his circle of cows moving with him, to his house to call for help.

My parrot has a full range of emotions, from outrage to utter contentment. Whenever I do something that angers him (usually taking away something he shouldn't be chewing on), he climbs to the highest perch in his cage and deliberately turns his back on me. Talk about a snub! The dubs could learn some new shunning tactics from him.

It's always intriguing to me when animals act "out of character." I don't usually ascribe human emotions to animals, but they are far more complex than we give them credit for.