Starting today guests at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida will get to see an unlikely pair – a cheetah cub and a yellow Labrador puppy. The 8-week-old cheetah was taken in last month because his mother was unable to care for him. Last week the animal care team decided on the 16-week-old puppy as a companion. The two will live together in Jambo Junction, a part of the Nairobi area of the park.

The park has opened a poll on their Facebook page to allow voting on what to the name the pair. Voting ends on Monday, April 18.

UPDATE: The cheetah cub has been named Kasi, which is Swahili for “one with speed.”

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Polar bear and husky play (photo credit © courtesy of National Geographic Channel)

Last year, National Geographic Channel aired a program about unlikely animal friends.  Premiering Friday, January 7, 2011 at 9pm EST is a second installment of bizarre animal pairs: Unlikely Animal Friends 2.

The one-hour special takes a look at friendships between a sheep and an elephant, a goat and two dogs,  huskies and polar bears, a leopard and a golden retriever, and a lion, tiger and dog.

Watch a sneak peak here about an orphaned elephant calf befriending a sheep:

Many of you may be familiar with the story of Christian the lion, a YouTube sensation (and if you’re not, you really should see it). This Saturday, September 26 at 8pm ET/PT, the National Geographic Channel is showcasing several heartwarming stories about animal bonds, including the tale of Christian the lion, in its program, Unlikely Animal Friends.

The one-hour special will also feature an orangutan and a hound dog, a tortoise and a hippo, a cat and a crow, an elephant and a dog, and more.

Catch a sneak peak here:

For more info, see NationalGeographic.com