Unlikely Friendships : 47 Remarkable Stories From the Animal Kingdom (23 page)

Enter Poggle, the warthog. Shortly before the rhino massacre, “a little pincushion of a warthog joined the household,” recalls Jude. “He was the size of my hand, and with just a sniff, he instantly recognized the baby rhino as a future friend and companion.” The timing couldn't have been better, as Tatenda would rely heavily on Poggle's affection—as well as that of Jude Travers—as he healed from his emotional wounds.

Finally came the hyena, Tsotsi, another orphan Travers rescued about ten months later. “He was the devil initially, with his beady little eyes and nocturnal ways, hiding out in his cave (a blanket-covered basket),” Jude says. “It took some months for the friendship to develop; it's a slow-going process for a hyena to learn trust.”

Under Jude's affectionate care, the trio thrived and soon took to one another like siblings. On any given Saturday morning, the whole mess of them could be found in the Traverses' bedroom—the hog under the sheets, the rhino with his chin on Jude's lap for a scratch, and the hyena tucked away beneath the bed. Together with their human caretakers, the bizarre trio would laze about before breakfast. At (human) mealtime, they'd often saunter to the table and demand milk, treats, or another round of affection. Out in the garden, the unconventional herd would chase and play-fight (Tsotsi was often the instigator, with nips to Poggle's backside), munch flowers, and nap together under the mulberry trees. And the three would go on walkabouts in the bush, sometimes with Jude or another Travers leading the pack and an orange house cat bringing up the rear.

Eventually, the Travers family made preparations to release Tatenda and Poggle together in a wilder part of Imire about eight miles away. Both needed to get on with more natural lives among their own kind. (Tsotsi, still a bit young to mate, would remain with the Travers family for the time being.) For Jude it was like turning away loved ones—the rhino, especially, held a big place
in her heart—but she knew it was right for the animals. “It's a tragedy when human actions result in orphans that need this kind of care,” Jude says. “Being able to hand-rear them and then put them back into their natural environment, where they can rely on their true instincts, that's the ultimate goal.”

The transition of rhino and warthog to the reserve land was a success. They rambled in tandem at first, but eventually the hog “went wild,” mated, and produced three little pigs of her own. Tatenda eventually turned his attention to other rhinos on the 11,000-acre property, where he is “adored by all the girls” (girl rhinos, that is), Jude says. Tsotsi, who had been left alone after his friends had been transitioned to the wild, wandered off into the bush one day and never returned.

{M
AINE,
U.S.A., 2009}

The birth of the wolf pup was totally unexpected. Staff at the Kisma Preserve in Mt. Desert, Maine, thought the young adult pair too young to breed, so they weren't watching for a pregnancy. But then, out came a pup—born to a mother not yet mature enough to understand her role as parent. “There was no aggression,” says the preserve's director, Heather Grierson, “but she had no maternal instinct whatsoever. She just didn't know what to do with it.” Staff members at the preserve were used to bringing work home with them. In this case, Heather decided to offer her house to rear the baby animal, a helpless bundle with eyes still tightly shut.

Ulrok the rottweiller was there to greet them when Heather arrived with her tiny charge. “Right from the beginning, he took excessive interest,” Heather says. “I misinterpreted it at first, thinking he might get overly rough. Plus, he's huge and young and clumsy and might have hurt her by mistake. But he didn't. Instead, he was amazingly maternal.” When the puppy whimpered, “he wanted to clean her top to butt, normally the mother's job. Ulrok simply took over. If he could have nursed her, he would have.”

The wolf was completely responsive to the rottie's overtures, happy for the attention. And after realizing Ulrok wasn't content unless the pup was within licking reach, Heather let them share a bed so they could cuddle. The still-awkward pup tried to play with the big dog, and even licked Ulrok's mouth and chewed his tongue to try to get him to regurgitate food, as wolves do in the wild. “He'd neutralize her with his paw if she got too excited, but Ulrok was so patient with her!”

The pup's wolflike ways showed at mealtime as well. When it comes to food, wolves and well-fed domestic dogs are very different animals—not so much in what they like to eat, but in the lengths to which they'll go to protect their lunch. Any self-respecting wolf challenged for her food will curl her lip and snarl, eyes wild and stance wide. The pup did the same, and Ulrok respected her space. “Here was this five-pound pup growling at this 120-pound dog, and he'd just back off and let her eat,” says Heather. “People think that if you raise a wolf in captivity, it'll be like a pet dog. That's not true. They are hardwired in different ways.”

That difference in temperament and behavior is one reason Heather wanted to make sure the wolf was exposed to her own species as soon as possible. So when the time was right, the pup was introduced to an old female wolf at the preserve named Morticia, who had been living alone for years. Happily, the two bonded from the start. “The pup breathed new life into the old wolf, who became more
active having a young animal around. She was soon regurgitating food for her and teaching her wolf mannerisms and behaviors,” says Heather. More convinced than ever that the pup knew what she was, the preserve staff felt confident in plans to integrate her into one of their captive wolf packs when the day came that elderly Morticia would no longer be there for her young companion.

As for Ulrok, whose breed is known for its herding and guarding instincts, he's now offered his parenting services to numerous animals at the facility, including tiger cubs, a baby gibbon, and even an injured leopard tortoise. “He really is the peace-love-and-happiness rottweiler of the world,” says Heather. “He was just destined for this life.”