Move over, Bambi and Thumper! There’s a new deer and bunny duo in town, and they’re giving us all the feels.
An orphaned deer named Afra and a rescued rabbit named Alice have formed a friendship that’s straight out of a Disney movie. Workers at Chase Sanctuary and Wildlife Conservancy in Webster, Florida have seen many interspecies friendships develop over the years, but this one is, by far, the cutest!
There are 160 animals living at the sanctuary, but most of them are monkeys and lemurs. Perhaps that’s why Alice and Afra were instantly drawn together when they both landed in the sanctuary two years ago.
Afra the 4-year-old white-tailed deer is just like Bambi in more ways than one. Like the fictional deer from the 1942 Disney film, Bambi lost her mother at an early age and couldn’t care for herself in the wild. Around the same time, Alice’s former owner made the decision to surrender her to the shelter, where they felt she would be happier.
“She was someone’s pet bunny,” said sanctuary founder, Nina Vassallo. “Her owner came here for a tour, and they saw we have this big, open habitat. It’s three acres, and they wanted her to have the ability to run all around in the grass and dig tunnels.”
Afra and Alice found one another right away! These days, they’re rarely apart, spending their days cuddling, grazing in the green grass, and sleeping curled up together at night.
“They spend a lot of time together,” Nina explained. “They watch out for each other, just like human friends.”
Visitors love seeing the two besties together, and the sanctuary says they don’t plan to separate them. Watching their friendship blossom makes the difficult business of rescuing animals all the sweeter.
“It always brings us joy to be able to make an animal’s life better,” said Nina. “They’re close, they’re friends.”
Everyone loves a heartwarming animal story, including https://t.co/bK8Nrcqh4p ! @people is on newsstands nationwide on Friday with a feature on Afra and Alice.https://t.co/YJpal9HT2w pic.twitter.com/Rw9ZuA7rT3
– Chase Wildlife Conservancy (@ChaseSanctuary) April 24, 2023
How cute are these two buddies? We’d make a trip to the sanctuary just to see them… but lemurs and primates are cool, too!
Share this story to recognize friendships in all forms, even four-legged ones.
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