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"It is good to love the unknown."
Charles Lamb
(1775–1834) Valentine's Day
LEICESTERSHIRE (UK) —
Long time Scoop
readers have learned not to be alarmed by bizarre love connections. We've
seen dog+fish, dog+duck,
dog+pigeon, dog+cat,
cat+rat,
and enough miscellaneous mismatched mammals that someone ought to write a
Broadway musical (they can call it Woofside Story).
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"Hey, you're kinda cute... You remind me
of someone I know."
(Photos: Turner Ian c/o Spooner, B-Z
Berlin)
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Well, here's a new one: at the Twycross
Zoo, north-east of Birmingham, a newborn pygmy chimpanzee is
getting lessons in love from a bulldog.
Weighing in at 3lbs. (1.4kg), baby "Kia"
is only a bit bigger than a mouthful for "Bugsy" the dog.
But BZ-Berlin
reports that the only thing on Bugsy's mind is giving Kia big, juicy
kisses.
The two became united by a strange twist
of fate when newborn Kia was not readily accepted by the colony of Bonobo
at the zoo. The bonobo is a sub-species of chimpanzee which has
never before been born in an English zoo, according to BZ. Little
Kia was temporarily adopted by primate expert Molly Bradham and taken home
where the chimp became acquainted with the somewhat-familiar-looking Bugsy.
Bugsy would not leave Kia unguarded even
for an instant. The uncanny bond between monkey and mutt became so strong
that news spread quickly, and Bugsy and Kia recently became the stars of a
British TV documentary.
Strangely enough, this has not been
Bugsy's first foray into monkey maternity. According to reports, the
bulldog was introduced to a baby orangutan last year under similar
conditions and likewise readily assumed the role of guardian.
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So, although Bugsy and Kia are soon to be parted when the chimp is old
enough to return to the colony, it seems clear that the zoo has found a
unique "animal specialist" in times of crisis. The next
ape-delivery from the stork may just be addressed directly to Bugsy.
Unbelievable. Have you ever seen a
more photogenic pooch + primate pair?
Who knows, maybe a little makeup and a haircut...
these two will be ready for showbiz.
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VALENTINE'S
DAY SPECIAL