We’re the best of furry friends!
IN the wild they would have nothing to do with each other. But after being rescued as orphaned cubs, this fox and the two young badgers have become the most unlikely of pals.
With no mother around to look after them, the trio have formed a bond that has surprised animal experts.
Badgers Betty and Bella were found in the street in Meltham, West Yorkshire. An adult badger, thought to be their mother, lay dead in the road.
At around the same time, Phoebe the fox was brought into a veterinary practice in Leeds after being found in a cardboard box.
All three were transferred to Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary in North Yorkshire, where they fell under the watchful eye of chief executive Alexandra Farmer.
She said: ‘Foxes and badgers would never mix in the wild. But these three were without their mothers, all of a similar size and we thought we could place them together as long as we kept a close eye on them. They have thrived since they were put in together.’
It is hoped they will eventually be released into the wild.
Meanwhile, another pair of unlikely pals are inseparable at a farm at Inverpolly Estate near Ullapool, Ross-shire.
Bernie, a five-year-old New Zealand Huntaway, became an adoptive father to Dora the sheep last year after the lamb was rejected by her mother.
Farmer Nicky Davies said: ‘She makes a racket if she is shut away from him with the rest of the sheep. She much prefers his company to other sheep.’