Interspecies friendship

[1] Numerous cases of interspecies friendships among wild and domesticated animals have been reported and documented with photography and video.

[2] The concept of interspecies friendship is similar to that of mutualism in that two individuals from different species exist in a relationship where each organism benefits from the activity of the other.

Some examples include: Dogs (Canis lupus familaris) and cats (Felis catus) that coexist in close quarters are two unrelated species that often display companionship towards each other.

[1][17] Many coexisting dogs and cats exhibit friendly relationships involving behaviours such as playing and sleeping together, grooming each other and understanding differences in body language and communication.

In the previous 11,000 years, humans have brought a wide range of species into domestication to use as livestock, working animals, household pets, and companions.

[27] The influence of human behaviour on domesticated animals has led to many species having learned to co-exist - sometimes leading to the formation of an interspecies friendship.

[3] The communication exhibited between dogs and humans allow friendships to form which is often displayed through social bonding activities such as play.

[3] Interspecific communication is an effective way of forming mutuality and interspecies friendships in the wild which often involves different species warning each other about potential danger approaching.

The mutualistic relationship observed between coyotes and badgers after hunting ground squirrels together is an example of mutualism developing into an unlikely interspecies friendship.

[2][14][15][20] Since social bonding involves communication and interactions between different species, it can lead to the development of interspecies friendships.

There is a wide range of shared general and specific social skills between humans and dogs including functional and behavioural traits.

Sociality, the ability to perform synchronized behaviour and complex constructive skills have each been previously displayed in both dogs and humans.

[37] Animals that have evolved social skills gained close integration with humans and their community resulting in more successful species.

Human-dog relationships are the most common interspecies friendships, resulting in dogs becoming one of the most successful mammalian species to exist.