<
https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-love-to-see-unlikely-animal-friendships-a-psychology-expert-explains-230548>
"The internet is awash with stories and videos of unlikely animal friendships,
often with many millions of views. This content typically shows animals from
different species showing affection to one another, signifying a bond or even a
“friendship”.
These relationships have been captured in people’s homes, such as with Molly
the magpie and Peggy the dog, in zoos, such as with Baloo the bear, Leo the
lion and Shere Khan the tiger, and even in the wild, such as one case of a fox
and cat living together in Turkey.
A plethora of research on primates, birds, kangaroos, dolphins, horses, cats
and dogs has shown many non-human animals can develop deep social bonds with
their own kind.
And while inter-species bonding hasn’t been studied to the same extent, videos
like those mentioned above show animals from different species displaying the
same affection to each other as they would to their own, such as through
cuddling, playing and grooming.
Why do we, as people, find these stories so enjoyable? Answering this question
requires us to consider some of the nicer aspects of our own nature."
Via Muse, who wrote "Fun article about animals with a shout out to
Star
Trek!"
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
