Adorable: Chendra - Oregon Zoo's smallest Asian elephant - was delighted to meet Gus the sea lion during one of her morning strollsChendra, the smallest Asian elephant at the Oregon zoo, was taking her morning stroll with a couple of her handlers when someone caught her eye.
Stopping for a breather at the zoo's Stellar Cove, Gus the sea lion swam over to make an acquaintance.
And, as this heart-warming photo shows, Chendra was delighted that he did.
As Chendra grins and reaches out her trunk - seemingly by way of introduction - Gus lifts his head, appearing to want a tickle under the chin.
Sadly, this was the first and last time the two met as the zoo stopped taking the elephants for morning walks.
The zoo's photographer, Michael Dunham, told the Huffington Post that the pair were snapped in 2007, adding that the picture was not digitally manipulated at all.
Asian elephants, which are smaller than their African cousins, are highly endangered. They face danger due to poaching, hunting, and a decreasing natural habitat.
Stellar sea lions are also threatened - their population declined more than 80 per cent between 1965 and 1994, according to the zoo's website.
Protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, currently there are approximately 67,000 or less in U.S. waters.
According to the zoo, sea lions in the wild are threatened by pollution, habitat degradation, illegal hunting, boat strikes or entanglement in fishing equipment.
source: dailymail
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