Adorable Cheetah Cub and Puppy Are Best of Friends; Watch Them Hang Out and Play
Talk about an odd couple! While some may think that cats and dogs are always enemies, two furry, four-legged creatures in the Commonwealth of Virginia beg to differ.
Kumbali, an energetic cheetah cub raised in captivity, and Kago, an adopted Lab-mix puppy, both reside at the Metro Richmond Zoo.
At a young age, Kumbali had to be taken from his parents because of complications surrounding his growth and ability to get milk from his mother.
Too old to be reintroduced to his cheetah family by the time the cub improved, officials at the the zoo gave Kumbali a canine friend named Kago.
"Dogs have been used as companion animals to cheetahs for over 30 years," noted the San Diego Zoo on its website. "The San Diego Zoo pioneered this idea, and has had many successful cheetah-dog companionships."
"This symbiotic relationship would never happen in the wild; however, we believe the positive outcomes outweigh any negative. As the two grow up together, they create a bond that becomes almost inseparable, sibling-like."
And like any group of siblings, these two furry friends have their share of play fighting and debates over whose toys are whose. Watch them in action!