Man Cuddling With Orphaned Warthog and Meerkats Is Too Cute for Words – Yahoo
We all love cuddling up with our pets, but rarely do we consider cuddling up with wild animals that aren't normally friendly towards humans. But for Ruben Lambrechts, who lives in Namibia and cares for orphaned and rescued wild animals, his cuddle time buddies include a warthog and a couple of meerkats!
The warthog's name is Betsie, and Ruben started caring for her in January 2024, so she's almost two years old, and he's the only 'dad' she's ever known. The meerkats, Minki and Jerry, consider her a sibling, which is why they are comfy cozying up with her. Ruben describes it as a, "Siesta squad straight out of The Lion King", and the whole scene is making us smile!
We also appreciated Ruben's reminder in the video's caption, "*NOTE: These animals are NOT PETS. They are orphaned animals that live a natural life outside. They belong free in the wild and not taken out of nature to keep as pets for human entertainment."
Many of us have only seen warthogs in cartoons or movies, and don't know much about them..that's certainly the case for us! Safari Bookings describes warthogs as African wild pigs that have bristly gray skin, large heads, curved tusks (they’re actually enlarged canine teeth), and warty lumps on the face, which explains how they got their name.
Adults typically weigh between 120 and 250 pounds, and they live up to 15 years. They don’t eat meat, and their diet consists of grasses, fruits, berries, roots, a variety of insects, bark, and eggs. They are not aggressive by nature, and only become so when they feel threatened or are attacked.
