Elderly man waits every day for his friend to crawl out and greet him

Friendship comes in many varieties.

I’ve seen a lot of unexpected friendships between animals from different species. There’s the elephant with a dog for a best friend, the dog whose bestie is a duck, and the list just goes on from there.

But this one takes the cake…

It’s always a pleasure watching some amazing and unlikely friendships in the making! The phenomenon of people becoming best friends with animals has always fascinated us. Typically, it involves dogs, cats, horses, or perhaps more “common” pets found in and around homes worldwide.

And yet, there are also those who form special bonds with somewhat unconventional animals.

A few years ago, a man named Seppo Laamanen captured widespread attention online. This was after he developed a rather unexpected friendship.

In 2011, Seppo Laamanen lived in a town called Punkaharju, located in the eastern parts of Finland, in a red cottage with white trim – surrounded by the stunning winter landscape.

Every morning, Seppo descended to the small lake near the cottage. For down there, a friend was waiting for him.

Every day, a starving otter showed up at the elderly man’s door.

Straight from the frozen waters, the otter had spotted Seppo living on his own in a house near where he nested, and wondered if he had some food to spare.

Seppo later named the otter Iivari, and since he was always hungry, Seppo naturally fed the animal as well.

And ever since, these two have been inseparable.

Seeing that the poor otter was small and malnourished, Seppo fed him and worms and fish to satisfy his hunger, according to The Telegraph.

Then the friendly animal repaid the kindness by visiting Seppo at his home in Punkaharju in eastern Finland.

The elderly man who had successfully befriended a friendly otter in the woods near his home, loves to spend some quality time outdoors with the animal while both enjoying the fresh air, as well as the surrounding nature at the same time.

The duo have many visitors but Seppo is the only person who can get close to Iivari.

Iivari is so comfortable around Seppo, he even enters his house where he has a food bowl and eats out on the porch.

---