Dogs can get along well with plenty of animals.
Dogs are man’s best friend, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t make friends with species other than us and their own. People once thought that a dog and a housecat cannot get along with each other, but it has been so long since this was disproven.
Dogs are highly social animals and there is plenty of proof that they can befriend other animals such as ducks, hedgehogs, and even tigers!
Befriending cats that are thrice bigger than them.
Dogs sometimes have a hard time with befriending housecats, and if we’re talking about bigger cats, it would seem to be an impossible feat. However, once you see Chelsea and Hunter’s special relationship, you’d surely change your mind.
Hunter is a Bengal tiger cub who was abandoned by its own mother.
Hunter the Bengal tiger cub was taken care of by volunteers from Wildlife Sanctuary in Pretoria, South Africa. This tiger cub already had it rough when his own mother began to reject him a few days after being born.
“We believe that Hunter was born at a time when the female must have felt compromised in some way as she rejected him,” explained Anthea Michaletos, one of the volunteers at the sanctuary.
It was the right thing to separate him from his mother.
The staff couldn’t do anything to alleviate the mother’s aggressive behavior towards Hunter, so they had no choice but to take him away from his mother. The volunteers were the ones who acted as Hunter’s mothers, feeding, cleaning, and nurturing his growth. The tiger cub felt at ease and was already used to seeing the people around taking care of him.
Although, he also needs a four-legged friend to play with.
Like any other young cub, they would eventually yearn for playmates but since there are no other tiger cubs his age, they tried to introduce Chelsea, a German Pointer puppy that they raised. Chelsea was only three weeks older than Hunter, which makes her a perfect candidate as a playmate, and they weren’t wrong.
Hunter and Chelsea became inseparable best friends.
Everyone was surprised at how quickly they got along. They would spend most of their time together wrestling and running around the shelter, of course with their caretaker’s supervision.
At some point in the day, their playtime would eventually end, and they had to be separated. They would both feel pretty lonely when it happens. Although, for them, tomorrow is another day, and they both couldn’t wait to play with each other again.
“In the mornings when I take Chelsea out, she will run to his cage and greet him,” Anthea said.
Sadly, after a few more months, they had to separate them permanently.
Sad to say, their friendship would probably end after Hunter reaches the age of six months. The staff is worried that it will pose a risk on Chelsea if they continue to let them play. But before that happens, they let them cherish every moment as playful best friends.
Although there are friendships like theirs that lasted.
Take for example Suria, a Siberian Tiger, in Senec, Slovakia, and the bond she made with three German Shepherds – Blacky, Hugo, and Jenny. They had been together since they were pups and cubs, and even when Suria grew up twice as big as the dogs, they’re still able to enjoy their leisure time together.
Hopefully, it would be the same with Hunter and Chelsea in the future.
Check out the sweet video of Chelsea and Hunter below!
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