Here’s a collection of stories and photographs that prove animals are intelligent, brave, have lifetime friendships, and deep emotions…#1. These two guide dogs, Salty and Roselle, led their owners out of the World Trade Center on September 11, before the towers collapsed.
#2. Koko the gorilla responds to a sad moment in her favorite movie Tea With Mussolini. She signs the words like cry, love, frown, as she visibly tears up.
#3. Alex the African grey parrot was able to count and identify colors. He had a close relationship with Irene Pepperberg. When Alex died in 2007, his last words to her were “You be good. I love you.”
#4. Cows grieve when they are separated from their calves. The mother cow’s cries can be heard from far distances. Cows also have best friends and according to scientist Krista McLennan, “When heifers have their preferred partner with them, their stress levels in terms of their heart rates are reduced compared with if they were with a random individual.”
#5. George the Jack Russell terrier gave his life fighting for a group of young children who were attacked by wild dogs.
#8. Kwibi the gorilla remembered his old friend, Damian, who had raised him.
5 years later, Damian returned to West Africa. He wanted to find Kwibi, despite being told that he had become hostile to humans. Damian called out to Kwibi the same way he used to.
#10. At the Chimpanzee Rescue Center in Cameroon, a chimp named Dorothy died of heart failure. Her fellow chimps hugged each other in solidarity and solemnly watched as their friend was laid to rest.
#11. A German shepherd became the seeing eye dog for a blind spaniel. When Ellie was adopted by shelter manager Jean Spencer, she never expected that her other dog, Leo, would choose to become her very own seeing-eye dog. “I take them for walks in the park and Leo guides Ellie around,” says Spencer. “He is so protective and herds the more boisterous dogs away from her.”
They had to release Christian to the wild when he got too big.
They went back to find Christian a year later. The lion was the head of the pride.
They were told he probably wouldn’t recognize them. But look what happened.
#13. Jenny and Shirley were two abused circus elephants who were held captive when Jenny was a baby and Shirley was 20. They were reunited at an elephant sanctuary 25 years later. The night of their reunion, they bent back the bars of their cages to get closer to each other.
Once they were released from their cages, the long lost friends were inseparable.
#14. When Lawrence Anthony died, a procession of elephants came to pay their respects. Lawrence was known as the elephant whisperer. He was an African conservationist who rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during the US invasion in 2003.
Two days after his passing, wild elephants showed up at his home who were led by two large matriarchs. Wild herds arrived in droves to say goodbye to their beloved friend. A total of 31 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to get to his South African House.
