Some cuteness for your feed. The latest unlikely animal friendship is between a beagle and a sloth. The pair live in Venezuela. Chuwie the sloth was rescued after being badly burned by power lines. The beagle, named Seven, is part of a pack of dogs living with the rescuers. Seven wanted to be friends with Chuwie, and her patience paid off with lots of snuggles and scritches.
Like human friendships, shared interests were part of the journey for Seven and Chuwie. In the video, the beagle brings toys for the sloth to play with. She also tries out eating leaves, which is what the sloth spends much of his day doing.
We learned about this cuteness overload thanks to Laughing Squid. It’s clear from Seven’s Instagram page that Chuwie is now friends with the entire pack of beagles. Other sloths rescued by the center are returned to the wild. But Chuwie can’t be due to missing claws that sloths need to climb trees and forage for food.
Instead, Chuwie serves as an ambassador for the rescue center. Power lines injure thousand of animals every year in Central and South America. Monkeys and sloths that climb on them are especially vulnerable. There are groups working to have more power lines insulated or buried. Wildlife bridges and other protected crossings save lives.
Follow Chuwie on Instagram for more photos and videos. The Dodo’s YouTube Odd Couples playlist is also full of interesting animal friendships. Can’t forget about this otter and kitten spooning. And the fact that some tarantulas and frogs hang out together. Some may be cuter than others, but we welcome all animal friendship content here at Nerdist.
Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.
