Animal Stories

[KoolKat]

Hi everyone,

I was just watching a programme in which it showed clips of a wild lioness who adopted an orynx calf and was treating it as her own baby. It almost brought me to tears when her 'baby' was taken from her by a male lion - it was extremely clear that she was heartbroken.
However, it also made me think about how special animals really are and how they each have wonderful, unique personalities.

I thought perhaps it might be a nice idea if we had somewhere to share our own special experiences or even stories we have heard about animals whether they're wild or pets. Even if it has a sad ending, it would be worth sharing to remember the animal for when it was alive.

I'd like to begin with an ongoing experience I was just talking about with a friend yesterday.

A pigeon was brought into the refuge where I volunteer about 2 weeks or so ago, having been shot by some sick kid with an airgun. The lower part of the beak is almost completely gone so he was in considerable distress and could not eat for himself. Despite the fact that he could not be returned to the wild and was a little underweight from not being able to eat, he was otherwise in good condition, so the hospital supervisor made the decision not to put him to sleep and to try to help him and see if he could learn to eat without it so he could live in the duckett with the other rescued pigeons.

She has to feed him 3 times a day by emptying a syringe of a porridge-like nutrional food directly into his crop. At first he hated it and it was heartbreaking to watch him so scared and fighting it, but in such a short space of time this has completely changed.

He is learning slowly to eat the seed that is put in his cage which is a good sign and he is also no longer scared of being fed. He actually looks forward to it and will jump up onto anyones lap and start tapping them gently with his beak looking for more food. It makes me laugh as his tongue flickers in and out (I'd never really seen a pigeon's tongue before then). He seems to see the hospital supervisor as his mother as he will climb up and try to tap at her mouth for food.

He can fly perfectly well, but for some reason he chooses to stay with us and sit on our shoulders so he can see what we're doing.

I just wanted to share this because I really feel it's amazing that despite being hurt and maimed by a human, he can be so friendly towards people. He looks forward to us coming in to start everyday.

[Ruum Taedor]

Great story about the pigeon, Kat. I've seen some heartwarming stories via email about other animals in refuges, but I don't have any at this time.

[Randy 54]

I agree, this is a heart warming story to be sure. I once heard a story about a squirrel that was hit by a car and left for dead in the street. One of the neighborhood residents happen upon the squirrel, returned with a shovel and scooped it up. Instead of ending the injured one's life, he took it to his friend
who was a dentist with little to no training in this field but managed to save the animal's life. After months of recuperation time, the animal was set free.
One morning, the resident heard scratching on his kitchen screen door and to his surprise, a little squirrel was sitting on his deck. He opened the door and the squirrel, who walked with a limp, came up to him and sat down at his feet.
From that time forward, the resident would share his breakfast every morning with his new found friend.
Now you may be skeptical, but I believe this happened.

[KoolKat]

Thanks Ruum.

That squirrel sounds like such a little sweetie, Randy54. I can believe that it's true. We have 3 pidgeons and lots of hens that keep popping into the rufuge hospital via windows or doors. I think it's because they were either raised or healed there so they see it as a good place.

It's also a place where they got lots of food lol - so that could be another reason why.

[Randy 54]

My experience with a squirrel was in 2005. The building I was working in never
had parking close by so I usually parked a block or two away and walked.
It was a late fall morning after an all night rain, I remember it being unseasonably cold. As I was walking, I noticed a squirrel laying on it's back next to the curb in the water. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't flip
itself back upright. At first, I thought it might have been hit by a car, but there were no signs of blood, so it must have fallen from the phone lines overhead. So many people walk this route, but everyone ignored it. I went and got my shovel and a five gallon bucket, removed it from the street,
and brought it in the house. I put a towel in the bucket to help dry it off.
The owner of the house told me about a place where they treat wild animals and maybe they could help as he had taken birds there before. I took the squirrel to this place which was located in the middle of a forest preserve.
There were seagulls, racoons, and wild birds that were kept in outdoor cages
while they healed and I thought if anyone could help, this was the place.
The next day, I called to see how it was doing, but sadly it was put to sleep
because it had a spinal injury and couldn't be treated. I was bummed.
Then I thought, if it had to die, at least it went humanely and not laying
in a pool of cold water.

[KoolKat]

Aww, I think you did the right thing. As you said, at least it had it's suffering ended in the warmth and quickly rather than slowly passing away cold and wet.

I truly cannot understand people who just walk by animals who are in need of help. Once when I had finished work, I was walking to the bus stop a little way up the road. It was cold and drizzly and so because of my glasses being soggy, I thought at first there was just a large bit of white paper on the pavement up ahead.

However, as I got closer, it was a large seagull that must have been glanced of a car or lorry (my work is on the edge of an industrial estate so there are a number of those) and it was laying with it's head up against a low wall. It looked as though that's how it had landed there. At first I thought it was dead, but I watched it for a moment to be sure and it moved it's head just slightly and looked at me making a little strangled noise. It had regurgitated too which I know now, and suspected then, was really bad sign.

I took my jacket off, wrapped it up and with it safely tucked under my arm, I hurried to the bus. Luckily the driver was someone my fiancé and I know so he didn't have a problem letting me on. I called ahead to get my fiancé to meet me at the other end with a large box.
When I got there, it looked up at me again and made another strangled noise, but it didn't try to struggle. It just fixed me with it's piercing yellow eye for a moment. When my fiancé arrived, we popped it into the box gently with the jacket around it and took it straight home into the warmth. We were going to phone the refuge when we got there.

Sadly though, when we got there and opened the box, it wasn't moving. I lifted it up gently, but it had gone. I was almost in tears. As my fiancé said though, at least it passed away in the warmth of a dry dark box rather than at the side of the road in the cold rain and I agree with him. We might not have been able to save it, but at least hopefully we made it's last moments more comfortable for it.

I didn't half get some strange looks though from people when I picked it up and was walking to the bus with it. One old person on the bus looked like I had brought a rabid hyena on board even though he was sat up near the back.

[The Zoo Boy]

I read a wonderful story recently on Wikipedia about a young hippopotamus named Owen and a tortoise named Mzee.

From Wikipedia:

Owen and Mzee are a hippopotamus and a tortoise, respectively, that became the subject of much media attention after forming a unique bond of friendship.

A baby hippopotamus, Owen, was orphaned in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Kenya near Malindi during the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on December 26, 2004. The baby hippo, weighing 600 pounds (270 kg), was stranded on a large rock not far from shore. He was finally rescued during a day long effort by nearly 1,000 villagers using shark nets. Owen's namesake is a French student volunteer with the KWS named Owen Saubion, who finally tackled the hippo during the rescue.

Owen was taken to Haller Park, a restored limestone quarry near Mombasa owned by Lafarge Eco Systems' East African firm, Bamburi Cement. He was released into a large wooded penned-in area that included a pond and a co-inhabitant − a 700-pound (320 kg), 130-year-old Aldabran tortoise named Mzee (Swahili for "old man").

Owen immediately bonded to Mzee and would crouch behind him. However, Mzee initially resisted Owen's overtures. Over time, the old tortoise came to accept the young hippo, who began to mimic his adoptive parent. Gradually, Mzee taught Owen, who was a nursing calf, what to eat and where to sleep.

In the first year, the two became inseparable companions who ate, slept, swam, and played together. Owen often played with the old tortoise by jumping on Mzee's back, scratching the old tortoise on the neck, and in many other ways. They surprised scientists with the strength of what appeared to be a genuine bond, as well as with the unique vocal communication that developed between them.

Owen and Mzee became worldwide celebrities as a result of their astonishing behavior, captured on film and video primarily by BBC photographer Peter Greste. Two picture books, Owen and Mzee: The true story of a remarkable friendship and Owen & Mzee: Language Of Friendship, both published by Scholastic Press, and authored by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Paula Kahumbu were released in February 2006 and January 2007.

Owen and Mzee were also the subject of children's musician Marla Lewis's song 'Will You Be My Mom?', released on her 2007 album 'I Love To Talk To Plants', as well as Judy Feeney's song 'Owen and Mzee,' released on her 2007 album 'The Ants' Dance.'

As of March 2007, Mzee has been removed from the enclosure. A female hippopotamus named Cleo has been added to provide companionship for Owen. Due to Cleo's rough behavior with the other tortoises, a decision was made to remove the tortoises. This has resulted in Owen and Mzee living apart, but their friendship, which lasted for over two years, continues to inspire people from all over the world. Owen seems to be adapting to his new companion and it is possible that Owen and Cleo will have offspring when he reaches maturity.



From BBC NEWS: Africa:

Odd couple make friends in Kenya

A baby hippo rescued after floods in Kenya last week has befriended a 100-year-old tortoise in Kenya.
The one-year-old hippo calf christened Owen was found alone and dehydrated by wildlife rangers near the Indian Ocean.

He was placed in an enclosure at a wildlife sanctuary in the coastal city of Mombasa and befriended a male tortoise of a similar colour.

According to a park official, they sleep together, eat together and "have

become inseparable".

"Since Owen arrived on the 27 December, the tortoise behaves like a mother to it," Haller Park tourism manager Pauline Kimoti told the BBC News website.

"The hippo follows the tortoise around and licks his face," she said.

The tortoise is named Mzee, which is Swahili for old man.

Ms Kimoti said that if the 300kg hippo continued to thrive then in the next few weeks they would allow the public to see the unlikely pair together before they are separated.

The sanctuary, which is on the site of a former cement factory, plans eventually to get the help of the Kenya Wildlife Service to place Owen with Cleo, a lonely female hippo in a separate enclosure.

Mzee and Owen have become firm friends despite the age gap.

This is the latest in a series of unusual bondings in the wild that have surprised and delighted zoologists in Kenya.

In 2002, a lioness at Samburu National Park adopted a succession of baby oryx.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_and_Mzee

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4152447.stm

[Randy 54]

Nice story, thanks for posting it.

[The Zoo Boy]

Originally Posted by Randy 54

Nice story, thanks for posting it.

No problem. I love animal stories, especialy when it is about either animals saving othr animals or humans, or animals become friends with other animals that they normallly would not.

[KoolKat]

That is so sweet. The little hippo looks so cute in that photo too.
Thanks for sharing. It's such a lovely story.

I, like you, love stories where animals have formed special bonds like this whether it's with another animal or humans.

[xzx]

There's a bunch of animals where I live, rabbits are funny because they'll run in circles together, bobcats, ducks, and endangered whooping cranes that haven't been going here lately but they're noisy A road runner was the funniest. Anyway there's this big orange cat that hangs around besides possums, raccoons, armadillos (dang animal planet!) Fish snakes,.. anyway when I see an animal it's potentially strange because I see them like robots that are just as if they're programmed to do and act a certain way,... (to get food etc., to bite or not to bite I guess.)

I once saved a fly from drowning and it would ride around on my shoulder. I don't now why but I am always thinking insects are smarter.

[xzx]

Oh yeah, once I was walking in a dry creek bed and I saw a yellow snake that had a piece of driftwood landed on top of it and it was twisted so it couldn't move. I was cautious and carried a paint ball gun and lifted it off and it reassured it's awkward disfigurement and slithered away, ha ha, hiss, hiss.Now there's a stray cat that won't leave me be and will jump on top of me, curl up and go to sleep! It follows me everywhere because I brought it in because it's getting too cold at night. Actually it's the same color as a dog I used to have and wonder if it's a reincarnated dog. I think too that a mouse is can understand me and things and keeps being reincarnated and coming back because I save it from certain death! Meow!

[xzx]

Oh gad, once we were driving through Wyoming or somewhere on a deserted dark hilly road and 1000's and 1000's of SKUNKS swarmed the road in huge waves of black and white. You couldn't even see the road at all! Sorry, had to tell.

[Lo]

Nice thread.

One day when Dad was concussed (he was kicked accidentally in the head during a rugby game), he didn't have the nous to seek medical advice and was wondering the streets aimlessly. Mum and I were worried sick but later that night as we thought of what to do and where to start looking, our dog barked outside of the front door.
Our little Standard, Long-haired Dachshund (basically a Red-Setter minus the leg-age ), had guided Dad home and to safety!

I like to think they are now reunited in that other place we call Heaven

[tombraider1best]

I have a story for y'alls

a couple of years ago before my dear chello passed, a labrador retreiver =], we had a kitty at the same time. and they used to get along so well. they even slept in the same doggie bed xD it was funny to see, chello was so confused when she he just wandered up and slept beside her. they got along after that <3

[Arrow]

Here's an old one of a snake befriending its lunch in Japan.

And contrary to the comments, no, the snake didn't eat his pal.

[KoolKat]

That's a sweet story, TombRaider1Best.

Bless, Arrow! That is so sweet. The ratsnake is so cute!
It's a shame our cornsnake, Sausage, isn't as accepting. She gets all interested and keeps butting her nose against the glass of her tank at the other end of the room wanting to come out whenever I take my hamster Button out for a cuddle.
I'm sure she'd love to give him a cuddle too, but it would not end well, lol.
Suffice to say, she'll never be allowed near him.

Luckily, when I do take him out, he doesn't seem to ever notice her or the tank which is good as I was worried at one point that she might stress him out.

[The Zoo Boy]

Originally Posted by KoolKat

That is so sweet. The little hippo looks so cute in that photo too.
Thanks for sharing. It's such a lovely story.

I, like you, love stories where animals have formed special bonds like this whether it's with another animal or humans.

No problem.

Btw: If any finds any more stories like that (animals form special bonds with each other or humans), please post, I find it very interesting to read.

[KoolKat]

Just saw this article in Daily Mail. It's so sad, I hope with the publicity she's been given that she will find a loving home who will give her the care she needs.

Princess



While other dogs romp in the snow, Princess the puppy can only gaze longingly through the window.
Her skin is so delicate that she cannot go outside in any weather – even a warm jacket would irritate her beyond endurance.
Staff caring for her at a rescue centre say her only hope is a course of drugs which would cost a five-figure sum if given for life.

Six-month-old Princess, thought to be a bull terrier-greyhound cross, was found in Colne, Lancashire, after being abandoned by her owner.

[xzx]

I thOught mY nEw oRange cat frIend was wantinG tOo muCh aTteNtioN pEttIng
I foUnd a stIcker lOdged dEep in his fUr by his armpIt
I cUt oFf a lIttle Fur aNd hE's Now hAppY aS cAn bE!!

[KoolKat]

lol xzx, I'm glad he's a lot happier now. Poor thing must have been so uncomfortable with that sticker tugging at his fur.

My cat Snowy (who lives with my parents) is a longhaired Turkish Angora but she hates to be brushed so gets matted quite badly and has to go to the vets to be clipped occassionally (only in the summer though while it's warm). She always looks like a poodle when she comes back.

[xzx]

It was embedded in it's skin matted up in his fur, ouch! We got him a nice cat bed,... He reminds me of Heathcliff!

[KoolKat]

Ouch indeed! Sounds like that sticker was causing a lot of pain to him. Some of Snowy's matted furballs are like that, leaving the skin red and sore underneath. Luckily, during the winter, she doesn't seem to have much of a problem, just from Spring onwards, so might be because of her moulting? I just know that after she's got over the indignity of looking like a poodle, she seems a lot happier in herself.

[xzx]

I don't know about him though, although he's well behaved and tame it's a wildcat. I've seen some pretty bad cats around that are bobcats that you don't wanna mess with!

[KoolKat]

Definetely not.

One of the army barracks I used to live at when my dad was a soldier was overrun with feral cats and some of them could get pretty nasty if anybody tried to get close to them.

IMO, all wild animals should be treated with caution and respect. They can cause some nasty injuries if their personal space is violated but that is never their fault, only the fault of those who are silly enough to forget or ignore the animal's nature.

In this respect, it also makes it truly special when a wild animal decides to allow a person to become friends, like your cat, and also two of the many cats at the local refuge.

One lived under a skip and was brought in after she became quite ill and the people nearby thought she was pregnant and were worried about her and her kittens (which turned out to be a severe case of tapeworm which she has been treated for and since recovered from) and the other was starving to the point that he forewent his fear of people and dragged himself into a bakery in Silloth before collapsing there.

Both are still feral in that they don't like strangers getting close but they are very affectionate to us at the refuge. It's almost like they are showing their appreciation at us taking them in and giving them food and a warm, safe place to live.