They even sleep next to each other 😍
By Sarah Ashley
Published on Sep 25, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Every morning, Kimani the elephant and Siilai the buffalo go for a walk together in central Kenya. They wrestle and nap on each other. In fact, they’ve developed a daily routine that ensures they get to spend as much time together as possible.
Back in February, Kimani fell into a well and got stuck. Rescuers successfully pulled him out, unscathed, but were unable to track his mother or herd. They brought him to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary for care, food and shelter.
Two weeks later, Siilai turned up in the Kirisia Forest, just east of the sanctuary. Only a week old, locals worried he wouldn’t make it in the wild alone and called the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary for help.
When Siilai arrived at the facility, he and Kimani clicked immediately.
“At that time, we didn’t have any other baby elephants the same age as Kimani,” Katie Rowe, cofounder of Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, told The Dodo. “So, these two babies found each other at Reteti. Suddenly there was someone else to play with.”
After months of friendship, the pair’s routine includes sunrise strolls, mud baths from their favorite caretakers — who are all Indigenous Samburu warriors — and giant bottles of milk every three hours.
Rowe said more often than not, Kimani will initiate playtime with Siilai, nudging his friend with his trunk. The two roll around in the dirt, wrestling between meals and naps.
“They lovingly play together,” Rowe said. “Then they’ll go into a deep sleep knowing that they have each other.”
The goal at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is always to release residents back into the wild. Though elephants and buffaloes don’t typically eat, sleep and play together outside of rescue settings, there’s always the possibility that Kimani and Siilai will continue their friendship beyond the sanctuary’s borders.
“They seek each other’s love and friendship,” Rowe said. “They’re real beacons of co-existence.”
If you’d like to support Kimani and Siilai’s recovery journey, you can donate via Reteti Elephant Sanctuary’s website.
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Driver Slams On Brakes After Spotting Black Speck Tumbling Across Highway
“It’s a miracle” 🥹
By Ashley Ortiz
Chef Franco Blanco was driving down a busy Florida interstate when a black speck suddenly tumbled across his lane. Blanco quickly identified the black speck as a tiny animal. And while most of the cars zoomed away after swerving to avoid him, Blanco immediately pulled over to help.
Blanco jumped out of the car alongside the highway median and quickly scooped up the little ball of fluff. He soon returned to his car with a small, black kitten in tow, breathless with disbelief.
“He’s not hurt,” Blanco said in a video of the rescue. “It’s a miracle.”
It’s unclear just how the little kitten landed on the highway. Perhaps he hitched a ride with an unsuspecting driver in the car’s wheel well, or maybe someone deliberately left him there. One thing’s for sure, though: He was found by the right people.
Blanco works as a chef during the day, but on his off time, he and his wife dedicate themselves to running a cat rescue in South Florida called Homeless Kitty Haven. Luckily for the kitten, who was later named Lucky Highway Miracles, Blanco knew exactly how to help him.
The devoted rescuer rushed to the vet clinic, hoping his initial observations of the cat were correct. The kitten seemed unharmed, but there was only one way to know for sure.
Before long, Blanco’s hopes were confirmed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“He’s totally fine,” Blanco said in a recent Dodo video. “Absolutely not one scratch.”
While many of the kittens Blanco and his wife rescue eventually find loving homes, the couple knew instantly that Lucky Highway Miracles would have a different fate.
“We decided we were going to keep him right away, and he was going to come home with us,” Blanco told The Dodo. “The fact that it was us that happened to be there, it’s an absolute blessing.”
Blanco and his wife weren’t expecting to add a new furry member to their family while driving down the highway that day, but they now can’t imagine life without him. In the weeks since his rescue, Lucky Highway Miracles has grown into a rambunctious, confident cat, who couldn’t be happier with his new life.
“We take him with us everywhere we go,” Blanco said.
You can watch Lucky Highway Miracles’ rescue and transformation here:
Once a tumbling speck of black fur on a busy interstate, Lucky Highway Miracles is now a spoiled house cat who knows no fear, only love and safety. And his doting parents couldn’t be more pleased with their sweet baby’s transformation.
“With his big paws, curious eyes, and the sweetest soul, he reminds us why every rescue matters,” Blanco wrote on TikTok. “This little survivor is proof that love, care, and second chances change everything.”
To help cats like Lucky Highway Miracles get the care they need, you can donate to Homeless Kitty Haven here.
To keep up with Lucky Highway Miracles and more of Homelss Kitty Haven’s rescues, you can follow Chef Blanco on TikTok.
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“This story has the perfect ending” ❤️
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