Correspondent photo / Nancyilynn Gatta Amy Reeher, District Administrator and Watershed Coordinator at Trumbull County Soil and Water District, holds a DVD she recommends, “Animal Odd Couples,” from the PBS Nature series after her talk, “Positively Perfect Pals,” on Wednesday at Brookfield Branch of the Warren Trumbull County Library.

BROOKFIELD — In the Bible story, Noah filled his ark with pairs of animals of the same species but in the talk, “Positively Perfect Pals,” Amy Reeher, District Manager of Trumbull County Soil and Water District, informed the audience that species sometimes discover friends quite unlike themselves.

“The most well-known animal friendship was Koko the gorilla. She was a female gorilla who was taught sign language and was able to communicate with humans,” Reeher said.

Dr. Francine Patterson, an animal psychologist, read to Koko. She was Koko’s main handler. The gorilla’s two favorite books had a cat or a kitten as the main character. So, it was not surprising that Koko signed that she wanted a cat.

“For Christmas, she unwrapped a toy cat and she signed, ‘That stink.’ Then she unwrapped a velvet cat and she signed ‘That red.’ Which was her sign when she was upset or angry,” said Reeher.

Koko chose her first kitten companion.

“She was presented with three rescue cat options,” Reeher said.

To get to know people or another animal, Koko would blow in the face of people. She did this to the kittens. Two reacted as startled or scared.

“The third kitten did not react at all. So, Koko picked her and named her All Ball,” Reeher said.

Koko carried All Ball around like a baby gorilla and let her climb on her back. She also signed conversations about All Ball to Dr. Patterson.

Unfortunately, All Ball got out of the enclosure and a car hit her.

“They determined that All Ball was her friend and she exhibited grief. She would sign that she was sad,” Reeher said.

Koko lived more than 40 years, so she had several cat friends.

Dogs seem to be perfectly bred for an unusual friendship. Reeher told the gathering about the Cincinnati Zoo and their Cat Ambassador Program between cheetahs and rescue dogs. It is a pilot program to help single cheetahs.

“Cheetahs grow up with siblings for the first two years of their lives. It is not about the breed of the dog. It’s their personality,” said Reeher in regard to which dogs are chosen to become an unofficial brother or sister to a cheetah.

She mentioned that dogs like to run and play and this helps the cheetah’s need to sprint and be mentally stimulated.

Reeher mentioned very divergent pairings such as the lion and a coyote as well as a female tortoise and a male goose.

“He follows her everywhere and protects her. They are inseparable. These geese mate for life so it is most likely, this is their life until the goose passes on. More likely the goose will pass on sooner due to their lifespans,” said Reeher.

Throughout the discussion, Reeher mentioned further readings that are available from the library to learn more about unique animal friendships.

She suggested Dr. Patterson’s book, “Koko and her Cat Friends.”

Other reading material Reeher recommended to learn about unusual animal friendships included “Unlikely Friendships” by Jennifer Holland, “Amazing Animal Friendships: Odd Couples in Nature” by Pavla Hanackova and “Can We Be Friends? Unexpected Animal Friendships from Around the World” by Erica Sirotich.

She also mentioned the PBS nature series, “Animal Odd Couples” which is available on pbs.org.

Reeher asked, “Why do humans care so much about these unusual animal friendships?” and answered with a quote from Manhattan psychiatrist and behavioral specialist Dr. Vijal Parikh, who said, “Because they are adorable. Everybody loves adorable.”