It’s always amazing to see a friendship form between two animals of different species, like a dog and a deer or a cat and a lynx or even a horse and a goose.
Like this pair of new friends, who come from very different worlds but still formed an unlikely connection.
A dachshund named Stanley went on vacation with his owner Melanie Talbot to Cornwall, England, and paid a visit to the Sea Life Trust Cornish Seal Sanctuary.
Looking around, Stanley caught the eye of a seal named Aayla. And while the glass of the tank separated them, they immediately formed a bond and booped noses.
“Friendships blossom in the most unlikeliness of places,” Melanie wrote on Instagram.
The seal became fascinated with Stanley—possibly because, with his outfit covering his ears, he looked a bit like a seal himself:
It’s not the first time Aayla has made a new friend—the sanctuary says she’s a very sociable seal.
“She absolutely loves interacting with people and dogs,” Georgina Shannon of the Sea Life Trust Cornish Seal Sanctuary told Bored Panda.
“We are often sent photos from our guests who have captured Aayla interacting with their dogs, so this isn’t the first time she has made friends with a dog, although she seemed to really love Stanley!”
Sea Life Trust rescues and rehabilitates about 70 seal pups every season—pups in need of help. Aayla was discovered in 2017 in particularly bad condition, and the sanctuary became her permanent home.
“She was malnourished and had a small injury on her right flipper,” Georgina said. “The flipper was discovered to be severely infected and several of the bones had to be removed, meaning she had to receive continuous care.”
Despite everything, Aayla is now a very happy seal, and gets to spend her days swimming around and making new friends.
What a cute friendship! We can’t get enough of these photos.
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