We often see stories of unusual animal friendships. However, in the vast majority of cases, this is because animals of different species have been brought up together by humans from when they were very young. If human intervention had not occurred, it would be highly unlikely that these animals would choose to come so close to each other. That said, a story from Russia has completely turned this assumption on its head.
Zookeepers at a zoo in St. Petersburg were astonished one day when they found a cat sitting with a wild Lynx in its enclosure. It is thought that the cat was a stray and had snuck into the zoo in order to find food, or just out of curiosity.
While the zookeepers were at first worried that the Lynx may attack the cat, the two unlikely partners are now the best of friends. While Lynx are not the biggest of wild cats, they are still at least three times larger than a domestic cat. Despite this, the young stray shows no fear of the larger feline. On the contrary, the pair seem to love each other’s company and even cuddle up together.
With no other home to go to, the zoo has fully adopted the cat and will make sure it is taken care of for the rest of its life.
The Eurasian Lynx is found in northern and central Europe and across central Asia (including Russia) and are most often found in forests and at high altitude. Males can weigh over 20 kilograms and the cats feed on a diet of rabbits, rodents, other small mammals and birds. The cats do however face danger from wolves, who kill and eat lynx. In fact, researchers have shown that wherever wolf populations rise the lynx population decreases. Thankfully, due to the remote areas in which lynx live, far from humans, the species is not regarded as being vulnerable to extinction.
Lynx are almost always found alone, only coming together to breed, which makes the friendship between the stray cat and the lynx all the more surprising.
[h/t: Why Don't You Share This]
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