Today on the Animal Planet channel, I learned some interesting things about
how a giraffe mother raises her young..
A mother giraffe in a British zoo was pregnant. As giraffe’s usually do, she labored to birth her young overnight. Around six am, her body squeezed the calf from her birth canal.
The mother licked the amniotic sack and fluids from its body and watched it to make certain it was breathing as it lay on the ground. An hour later, it tried to stand. After several attempts, the calf finally stood under its mother and nursed.
For a week, the zoo closed this exhibit to give mother and child time to bond. Finally the day for the young male to join the herd in the outdoors arrived, An adult male exhibited dominance over the young one, pushing him around, although the calf wasn’t old enough to threaten his senior peer’s sexual prospects. The calf’s mother let this go on for a short while. Then she intervened and guided her young son back inside with her.
The mother didn’t treat her young like many humans today do.
She didn’t make it easy for him to eat, but instead waited for him to stand on his own four feet. She also didn’t rescue him when an older male in his herd picked on him.
Why didn’t she do these things for her baby? The reason wasn’t a lack of love for him. She knew he’d have to be strong enough to stand tall and eat leaves from a tree when he grew older, that he must learn to assert himself and lead his own herd someday.
What might have happened had the mother coddled her baby and made life easy for him? Perhaps he’d have become a weak adult. And, in nature, the weak don’t survive.
I’m not suggesting that human mothers shouldn’t hold their infants and nourish their bodies with food and their hearts with love. However, sometimes, human children aren’t taught, or allowed, to be strong. Sadly, too many aren’t required to think for themselves and learn from their mistakes. Heck, today kids aren’t even taught what really happened in the past so they can learn from and avoid repeating it. Children of any species raised this way often become too dependent on others and therefore don’t stand on their own feet when they get older; They become weak and incapable of caring for themselves as adults.
Wouldn’t our country and our world be better
if all humans parented like a giraffe mom does?
Let the encouraging words in these near a river posts help you
soar like an eagle above life’s storms.
Don’t worry about coronavirus!
Was it the wrong or the right button?
Is it possible for your dreams to come true?
Never allow your child to make this bad mistake!