Animal Odd Couple: Emu, Donkey

NC shelter took them in, and they refuse to be separated
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2018 7:31 AM CST
Week's Most Unusual Couple: Emu, Donkey
File photo of an emu.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

An animal shelter in North Carolina has a unique problem: It recently took in an emu and a donkey from an abandoned farm, and the pair refuse to be separated. Both get extremely anxious when that happens, so much so that officials at Carolina Waterfowl Rescue say they need someone willing to take them both in, reports the Charlotte Observer. See them here. The newspaper says the male donkey and female emu "have apparently fallen in love," and shelter officials speculate that they bonded while "comforting each other" for years at their farm. Its owner apparently abandoned them last week.

“They like to cuddle and even sleep together,” a shelter official tells the Observer. "We can’t separate them, so we need someone who is willing to adopt both a donkey and an emu. That may not be easy." In the meantime, the nonprofit shelter is asking for name suggestions, along with donations. NPR notes that such odd animal partnerships have intrigued scientists, though some note that they seem to occur mostly in human-controlled environments rather than in the wild. (More uplifting news stories.)

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