As of: March 1, 2024, 9:45 a.m
By: Sophie Kluß
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Dog Vinny and horse Motley enchant on Instagram.
Your deep friendship reaches millions.
But can animals actually make friends?
Dog Vinny and horse Motley are best friends - and share
their loving relationship with thousands of
Instagram followers.
The two went viral last year with a video showing their special male friendship.
An incredible 20.8 million users have since viewed the touching clip from Canada on the social media platform.
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“Never thought my dog and my horse could be so connected”
In it you can see how Vinny tenderly cuddles up to his best friend Motley through the fence.
The two animals put their heads together very closely and enjoy each other's pure presence.
Ashley Ferrell, the owner of the two, is amazed at the intimate connection: “I never thought my dog and my horse could be so connected, but they are,” writes @ash_ferell about her video.
On her
account, Ferrell posts more videos of the “Motley and Vinny content everyone loves” and tags them with the cute hashtags #bestfriends and #bestfriendsforever.
Affection in the animal kingdom: Can animals make friends?
But can animals even form friendships and if so, how exactly can we actually imagine the animal connection as a human being?
The German Press Agency interviewed the behavioral biologist and author Karsten Brensing about this.
He says: “Basically, animals have friendships just like we do.” Their friends would not only recognize the animals years later, but would also communicate with them and help each other, for example with personal hygiene.
Science is now going beyond the pure benefits of a connection and is talking more about feelings that, just like in humans, are sometimes caused by the love hormone oxytocin, says Brensing.
This hormone causes animals and people alike to feel comfortable with a friend and to do favors for the other without self-interest.
However, cross-species friendships are less known in the wild and in large herds.
But “as soon as you look at smaller groups where the animals know each other, this is common practice,” explains the behavioral biologist.
Just like with this baby cat and a dog: their friendship is heartwarming.
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Zoologist and presenter Kate Kitchenham emphasized to the German Press Agency the important role of humans in the development of such close animal friendships: “Without a person who brings the animals together and thus creates a framework, such friendships would only rarely be observed,” says dpa Behavioral scientist again.
Examples of amazing animal friendships include that between a tiger and a billy goat in a Russian zoo or that between a camel and an elephant in a Danish circus.
This amazing friendship between cat and ferret also makes you laugh.