Why Do Animals Become Friends?

If you are online for an extended period of time, you are likely to encounter mesmerizingly cute animal content. A prominent subcategory of such content involves friendship between two animals from different species. I have seen a puppy hug a duck and a cat play with a fox. Name an unlikely combination and there is probably a viral video about it. 

Animals Go Viral on Social Media

It’s easy to become emotionally invested in an animal friendship, particularly when it is unexpected. Often, people are inspired by what they see. Comments can be philosophical at times. 

“You don’t have to be the same as someone else in order to give or receive love.  You just have to be.  We’re all equal.  We all deserve the same respect and regard that we give to those around us,” wrote a YouTube commenter under an episode of National Geographic’s “Unlikely Animal Friendships,” titled “The Chihuahua and the Chicken.”

The Science Behind Animal Friendships

Interactions between animals in the wild have long been understood in terms of symbiosis. According to this model, there are four major ways that living things interact: competition, commensalism, parasitism, and mutualism. Competition occurs when animals vie for the same resources. Commensalism involves one species benefiting from a relationship while the other is neither helped nor harmed. Parasitism is when a parasite benefits at the expense of its host. 

Mutualism describes an arrangement in which both benefit. Mutualism is close to friendship but it doesn’t account for the kinds of animal pairings that most people find so fascinating. 

A 2015 New York Times article describes how scientists conceptualize the kinds of animal interactions found on social media. Not all friendliness between species is exactly as it appears and even genuine examples of interspecies bonding take place under human influence. 

How do Animals Engage in Friendship?

Friendship is a philosophical term. It requires things like respect, love. To what degree non-human animals are genuinely capable of such things is still up for debate. 

Barbara King, professor emeritus at William and Mary, and author of Animals’ Best Friends believes that animals do not only engage in friendship and love, but grief. “I have found it a genuine comfort, a solace to know that we aren’t the only beings on this earth who feel love and grief,” She said in a 2019 TED talk. 

Critics of King’s position caution against projecting human sensibilities onto other species. 

Animal friendship is both fascinating from a scientific perspective and uplifting from an emotional standpoint. We often see ourselves in animals because, well, we are animals. Perhaps one thing that we share as a species is our visceral reaction to cuteness.