Interspecies adoption

Syzygys

Syzygys

As a mother, I am telling you
Valued Senior Member
These are incredibly cute pictures and story. A boxer adopting a little goat:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=521777&in_page_id=1770

I also know of a cheetah adopting a gazelle. That was even stranger, because that was a clear predator-prey relationship....

So why interspecies adoption happens? (I really don't care but the pics were so cute and Orleander wanted a science thread)

BillyLilly3AUSTIN_468x330.jpg
 
Orleander said:
well, we have pets. Isn't that the same thing?
Click to expand...
I don't see why not. Although our multi-species community started out as coworkers. Dogs complemented our hunting skills and cleaned the place up, cats kept rodents out of our granaries. It took a while before the relationships came to be based primarily on affection rather than mutual economic benefit. Not as long as we might think, however. DNA analysis discovered that the Pekinese was one of the first breeds of dogs spun off from the ancestral wolf-dog. Clearly a dog that was desired for companionship rather than his other job skills.
 
This is a little different but I found it cute and interesting.
At a local bay ( safe spot where I snorkel with my daughter) there is an odd couple; a juvenile flathead ( platycephalus fuscus) and a juvenile red gurnard (cheilodonychthys kumu) who appear to have paired up. They are each about two inches long and both are bottom dwelling species. The flathead is wonderfully camouflaged and the gurnard has beautiful irridescent fan shaped pectoral fins. We've seen them several times, sticking close together.
Of course, there's nothing unusual about mixed schools of fish but this pairing does seem rather unusual.
 
we are the best of this and i guess we have taught our animals how to do it to. My cats and my partners dog are always following eachother round and sleep with eachother.

Then there are the symbotoic relationships like my clown fish and its anenomie
 
Why would a cheetah adopt a gazelle? We had a dog that adopted some kittens, but she had just had a stillbirth litter of pups. So we figured it was the hormones. So I would guess that females adopt more than males.????

thanks Syzygys!!!
 
orleander i doubt thats the case if you take humans as an example

although the rate of specific pets may differ by gender i doubt that overall ownership does
 
Asguard said:
orleander i doubt thats the case if you take humans as an example

although the rate of specific pets may differ by gender i doubt that overall ownership does
Click to expand...

well, I'm not talking about humans, I'm taking about other species like dogs and cheetahs.
 
my dog is female and my cat male and they have formed a pack:p

Of course its doubly strange because cats ARNT pack animals
 
I find that fascinating. I really wonder why they would save food instead of eating it. is it always a mammal thing?
 
Orleander said:
well, we have pets. Isn't that the same thing?
Click to expand...

According to animal shelters and rescues, it IS the same thing. I filled out adoption papers on Kingston, my Dobie, before I got him. I adopted him from a Doberman rescue. The Boxer I had before Marley was adopted from a rescue as well.
 
When I was growing up there was a duck that had adopted two kittens. I think these relationships are more about companionship than anything. And when is something considered a pet and not considered a pet, because to be honest I don't really see that big of a difference between how people care for "pets" and how they care for their "children" should children be considered "pets"?
 
you guys DO realise of all of these the dogs are the least remarkable, they have been BREED to adopt the things they are protecting wether thats us or that is a chicken

My parents dog lays down and lets the chickens walk all over him but if a fox gets in watch out, he will atack it

They are using dogs to guard the fair penguins now to protect them from foxes, you would think leting a pack of dogs loose on a penguin range would spell the death of the penguins but no, they adopt them and protect them from the foxes
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top