10 Incredible Stories of Friendship Between People and Wild Animals

Some people prefer dogs, others cats, and there are those who prefer more exotic pets like snails or spiders. But there are also those who chose wild and dangerous animals as friends. This friendship breaks through the usual understanding of things and lifts the veil a little of our deep connection with nature.

O awesome.club has compiled 10 incredible stories of friendship between people and wild animals that will change the way you see things and make you think about our place in the world.

Zoologist Kevin Richardson is known around the world as “The Lion Whisperer”. And it’s no wonder: Kevin can sleep peacefully among a herd of wild cats, bathe with them in the river and play ball. Among his friends we can still find leopards and hyenas.

Behind this incredible friendship there is colossal work and a lot of experience. Although all these animals live in natural conditions on the territory of the park “The Kingdom of the White Lion”, Kevin knows each of them since they were babies. Richardson bases his relationship with the big cats solely on respect and trust, and they consider him a member of their family and behave affectionately towards him.

Mark Dumas lives in Abbotsford (Canada) and is the only person on the planet who is friends with a polar bear.

Agee: this is the name of the bear who has lived alongside Mark and his wife for over 18 years. Scientists are still confused about how such a friendship can be possible, because this animal is one of the largest and most ferocious predators on Earth, it can even blow your head off with one blow!

Mark has been dedicated to bears for a long time. Between him and Agee there is a unique invisible connection, only understandable to them, based on love and mutual respect. This gives us the feeling that they are similar! On the other hand, the bear only allows Mark and his wife to get close to him, and isn’t as friendly with other people.

An Italian couple, the Giustozzi, rescued a wild boar from the forest on the brink of starvation. After a few years, the wild boar named Pascalina became a beauty of impressive size and over 100 kg.

Although wild boars are not as harmless as they seem, and can easily injure and even kill a person, Pascalina loves affection and attention, and is considered another member of the Giustozzi family. When her owner, Raffaele, relaxes on the sofa, she climbs onto it and gently presses it with her soft snout.

One day, an inhabitant of Bogor (Indonesia), Irvan, bought a small crocodile only 10 cm long from local boys, for the sum of 1.5 dollars. Kojek, the name chosen by his owner, lived in his house for 20 years. The reptile grew up to 2.75 meters in length and weighed around 200 kg.

Irvan and his family played with Kojek and groomed him. The reptile ate about 2 kg of fish a day and, due to its gluttony, several times it snapped at neighboring cats that recklessly entered the courtyard of its house.

The end of the daily interaction between the family and the crocodile came when the local administration found out about their unusual pet. Crocodiles are protected under Indonesian law and it is forbidden to keep them in your home. Kojek was removed and transferred to a Bogor safari park.

Irvan’s family members could not hide their tears when they said goodbye to Kojek, as after 20 years of living together they have become strongly attached to him. Irvan often visits his friend at his new outdoor home.

About the incredible friendship between the British naturalist Shaun Ellis and the wolves, documentaries were made on Animal Planet (“Living with the Werewolf”) and National Geographic (“A Man Among Wolves”) channels. However, at the height of his training as a professional zoologist, leading experts in the field joked with him as a fanatical eccentric.

In addition to working with wolves at a specialized center, Shaun lived for almost two years with a pack of these wild animals and wrote a book about his incredible experience called “Accepted Among Wolves”. He described everything that happened during his life with the predators, what he had to renounce, what he had to tolerate and what tests he had to pass in order to join the family of those animals.

In 2000, during a flood in Limpopo, South Africa, a baby hippopotamus was thrown onto the bank of a river, right next to the Joubert couple’s home. The animal had no more than 5 hours to live, and without help it would simply die.

Ranger rangers Tony Joubert and his wife Shirley, who have no children, fed Jessica, who is now 18 years old and weighs approximately 1.5 tonnes. Although they are herbivores, hippos are very dangerous animals, capable of easily killing a person. But in all these years, Jessica has never shown any kind of aggression towards humans. She even fends off crocodiles, protecting her rescuers as they enter the water.

Jessica loves South African Rooibos tea, and every day consumes 20 liters of the drink, which Shirley makes for her, in addition to being a sweet potato fanatic. The hippopotamus lives in freedom with other animals of its species, but regularly goes to the Jouberts to spend time with them and watch television. They even made a special passage from the water to the house.

Jessica is the most famous hippopotamus in the world. 105 documentaries have already been recorded about it, which is still one of the attractions of South Africa, as tourists love it.

When Kwibi and his siblings were very young, poachers caught their parents. Their fate was predetermined: the little ones would be sold to home zoos, where they would spend many years in dark cages or die. But the criminals were caught by the police, and the babies were sent to England, to Howletts Zoo.

The owner of the complex, Damian Aspinall, became very attached to Kwibi, who, for him, was a special gorilla. Damian took care of the animal and played with it a lot. When the monkey grew up, Damian took it to Gabon and, along with other gorillas, set it free.

Kwibi lived in the wild for 5 years and grew into an adult, strong alpha male. After that, Damian went to Africa to visit him, but nobody knew if the gorilla would recognize him. The reunion was very moving: Kwibi remembered his childhood friend and ran to greet him.

Many years ago, Texas couple Ronnie and Sherron Bridges had a herd of about 50 bison. But when the husband became blind in one eye and could no longer care for them, the animals had to be sold. The Bridges were left with just one baby, earning her the nickname “Wild Thing”.

Wild Thing has become a true pet and family member. He always has breakfast at the table with his owners and enjoys watching action movies (due to moving pictures) in his own room. He was even the best man at the couple’s wedding.

The bison’s personality is completely similar to its name: wild and unbridled. But he thinks Ronnie is the leader, obeys him and allows him to hold his horns.

Casey Anderson’s best friend turns out to be… a grizzly bear! Casey took Brutus under his wing when he was still very young. The reserve where the bear cub was born was already full and there was no room for another specimen. They wanted to send Brutus to a zoo, but Casey wouldn’t let that happen.

For many years, Casey and Brutus maintained a warm and trusting relationship. It’s amazing how tender and affectionate this nearly 1000-pound, eight-foot-tall dangerous predator can be.

These friends became the stars of Oprah Winfrey’s show and their own television show, which is backed by National Geographic. In it, Casey tries to dispel the stereotypes of people who think that brown bears are exclusively murderous cannibals and bloodthirsty predators.

Two cheetah cubs appeared in Kim and Hein Schoeman’s family from South Africa without any planning. Their mother gave birth to 4 kittens in the reserve, but as cheetahs can normally only guarantee the survival of half of the litter, the Schoemans decided to take the two “kittens” home.

Owning two wild cats was not part of the family’s plans, especially since they had two young children, a two-year-old Malan and a 3-month-old baby Kayla. At first, the Schoemans tried to keep the cheetahs separate from the children, but life made its own adjustments.

Every two hours, day and night, Kim had to feed the pets, Vakuu and Skyla, and her own children. In the end, everything was mixed up. Kim warmed up milk for baby Kayla, and the kittens, and put them to bed together because baby cheetahs also need maternal warmth and care.

The dangerous cats became family members and very close to the Schoeman children. The one-year-old cheetahs were eventually moved to an enclosure in the backyard, but the children play with them regularly. Parents taught them how to behave so that playing with predators was as safe as possible. Even so, the Schoemans explain to the children that they will soon have to send Vakuu and Skyla to a reservation, where they will be better off than they were at home.

Our editors were very moved and delighted by all the stories, but especially by the friendship of cheetahs and children, Shaun Ellis and his life in the wolf pack and the “lion whisperer”. And for you, which of the incredible stories impressed you the most?