Gorilla and Rabbit: Unexpected Companions

Gorilla and Rabbit: Unexpected Companions

A gorilla and rabbit friendship is a documented cross-species bond, recorded most clearly at Pennsylvania’s Erie Zoo in 2012, where Samantha, an elderly western lowland gorilla, groomed and shared food with a Dutch rabbit named Panda. Ethologists read the pairing as affiliative behavior, not sentiment projected onto animals. Published: June 5, 2026. Last reviewed: June […]