Meet the Tortoise and His Unlikely Pet: A Bunny

In the well-known fable, the tortoise and the hare are bitter rivals, each doing everything they can to beat the other. In nature, it seems, these two don't have to be at war.

About a week and a half ago, a small desert rabbit, about two weeks old, appeared in the tortoise enclosure at a resort in Marana, Arizona. The rabbit was in a pitiful state: "He was all tangled in grass and weeds that nearly strangled him," says Ron Brink, an employee at the resort.

The one who felt compassion for the bunny was Wamba, the large African tortoise living there. Brink, who cares for Wamba, found the rabbit cuddled up right next to him. "It seems they became fast friends," he says.

When a group of workers tried to take the rabbit to remove the debris stuck to him, Wamba the tortoise immediately began making pitiful cries: the caretakers concluded that he was asking them to handle his new friend gently and return him quickly.

They did return him, and as you can see in the picture, the two enjoy a pleasant life in the sun, very close to one another. Who knew a tortoise could adopt a pet?