Interspecies Friendship: Deer and Rabbit

Interspecies friendships are awesome. Here are some photographs from Tanja Askani of a deer and a rabbit who are apparently pals.

Askani is a photographer and animal scientist. She has a book entitled Kinship with the Wolf: The Amazing Story of the Woman Who Lives with Wolves. From the Amazon page:

Czech author and animal scientist Askani lives with her husband at a game park in Germany. Originally, they had established the falconry at the park, bred raptors, and presented bird shows with their birds of prey. When her husband brought her an orphaned three-day-old wolf pup, Askani’s entry into lupine life began. Flocke (“snowflake”) was weak, requiring the intensive care of both Askani and her dog, yet eventually thrived. The bond between Askani and Flocke survived the wolf’s return to the game park and her pairing with another hand-reared wolf. Their daily interactions, including walking around the game park on leashes, gave Askani great insight into the world of the wolf.

Having a wolf pack (a third, younger male was added later) that totally trusted the humans among them — and, in fact, treated them like auxiliary wolves — meant that intimate observations of wolf behavior were possible. Although the writing and the translation are a bit choppy, the charming, diary-like writing style and the plethora of color close-ups of the wolves will enchant wolf lovers.

I’ve added it to my must-read list. See more of Asksani’s amazing wildlife photography here. Oh, okay. Two more images (because they’re cute):

[found via Boing Boing]