Animal Friends

I have been moved recently by stories of inter-species love. No, not that movie on Cinemax about the nice housewife and the very friendly Great Dane.

First, the story of Gohan and Aochan. Gohan (which means "tasty rice dish") is a pygmy hamster who is best friends with Aochan, a Japanese rat snake. Zookeepers, unable to convince Aochan to eat frozen mice, put Gohan in the cage as a treat. Aochan didn't want to eat Gohan either, and now they are fast friends. Aochan has since decided to eat the frozen mice. "I've never seen anything like it. Gohan sometimes even climbs onto Aochan to take a nap on his back," Yamamoto, the zookeeper, said.


Second is the story of Owen and Mzee, orphaned hippo and ancient tortoise. Owen befriended Mzee after being stranded, then rescued, in the ocean, and has seemed to have adopted Mzee as his mommy. At first, the tortoise would have none of it, but now they are like two peas.

I don't know why, but these stories really touch me. It makes me wonder why we humans can't get along better, if hippos and tortoises... or even better, rat snakes and hamsters can get along.

On the other hand, Freelove turned into "Street Freelove" the other day, getting in Roo's face and growling at him, seemingly unprovoked. She proceeded to smack him on the face, which inspired him to jump up and chase her. I don't know what set her off, but needless to say, Roo settled her down. It was all rather random, but they are friends again. Freelove never growls, though her growls are really not scary at all... they are rather cute... and so it is probably best that she does not growl as the growl doesn't really work.

Keep on keepin' on.