IDIOM: A DOG EAT DOG WORLD?

When we think of the animal kingdom, some of us imagine ferocious beasts hunting their prey. Wild animals constantly at odds with each other in a survival of the fittest may be the norm, but its not always adog eat dog world. Sometimes unlikely friendships form between surprisingly different types of animals.

Take Bubbles and Bella, an African elephant and a black dog who met at an animal park in South Carolina. Bella and Bubbles couldnt be more different. Bubbles is an elephant who weighs in at over four tons and stands nine feet tall. She was adopted by the animal park after her parents were killed by poachers. Bella the dog, on the other hand, is smaller than Bubbles entire head, and is a South Carolina native. Most of us would never expect these two polar opposites to get along. And yet, Bubbles and Bella are as thick as thieves. They can be found together day in and day out, playing fetch, splashing in the water, and snuggling up to each other.

The bonds between animals can even go beyond friendship. At Haller Park, in Kenya, a 130-year-old tortoise named Mzee has adopted an orphaned baby hippo named Owen. After Owen was orphaned, Mzee took him under his wing, and tended to the baby animal as if he were his parent. Elsewhere in Kenya, a wild lioness adopted a baby antelope after killing its mother, and has since adopted five more little antelope as her own.

So how is it possible for elephants and dogs, or lions and antelopes to build bridges between their very different species? According to some scientists, the answer might lie in the fact that animals arent so different from us after all. It turns out that animals, like humans, have a strong desire for companionship and interaction. The reason animals form inter-species friendships, these scientists say, usually comes down to something simple and visceral: the universal desire to connect with, play with, and learn from another being. After all, we all need a friend sometimes, no matter how wild and exotic that friend may be. Do you have any exotic friends?

VOCABULARY

at odds in conflict

dog eat dog ruthless; competitive

poachers people who illegally hunt or fish

polar opposites completely different

thick as thieves to be very friendly or best friends

snuggling cuddling or embracing lovingly

under his wing be under his care; to be protected by him

build bridges to create or improve relationships between people