An adorable baby emu that was rejected by its parents is now being hand-reared and has been adopted by a flock of goats.
Little Taz the emu is only a few days old, having hatched in an incubator on March 17.
He was the only emu to hatch out of the ten eggs laid by his parents, Del and Rodney.
But because the chick was hatched in an incubator, rather than being kept warm by his father, the two adult emus did not imprint on their newly-hatched chick.
However, Taz was quick to form attachments to other animals at the centre – including six baby goats that were born just a few days before.
Taz, who is being hand-reared at wildlife rescue charity Caenhill Countryside Centre, in Devizes, Wilts., has spent every day of his short life visiting and playing with the six kids.
The chick seems to have already built a friendship with Alfred, Mickey, Giddy, Eddie, Marigold and Ayah the baby goats who have been encouraging Taz to find his feet and run around with them.
Adorable photos even show one of the goats giving Taz a gentle 'kiss' on his head.
Chris Franklin, who runs Caenhill Countryside Centre with his wife Ellie, said: "It's so lovely and wholesome to see them playing together.
"They seem to get on really well and have a special bond. The goats like to play and prance about, and Taz likes to play too and needs a lot of exercises.
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"He is already starting to learn to run, and adult emus can run up to 30 miles an hour. It's quite a heartwarming friendship – and it seems to make people happy as they follow along on our social media while we remain shut during the pandemic."
Chris also praised the charity's creative director, Caroline Le Bourgeois, who is hand-rearing little Taz.
He said: "When Taz hatched, Caroline was there and was the first person he saw – so he imprinted on her. She's been looking after him and feeding him every day.
"We have over 300 animals here at our rescue centre – and every animal really does have its own personality."
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