Monday, May 9, 2011

A Good Mother

                                                   Mother elephant trying to reach her calf that fell
[kintera.org]

Fred O'Reagan of the International Fund for Animal Welfare sent out a heartbreaking story the other day. What we are looking at in the photo is a mother elephant's head, seen from above, on the right. She was trying to comfort her injured newborn calf, on the lower left. The baby had tumbled down a steep ravine and was injured. The mother elephant made her way down the perilous slopes, through rocky terrain, gravely injuring herself in the process of reaching her baby's side.

She reached over to him with the end of her trunk, to comfort him. That was as close to him as she could get. When the wildlife team arrived to help her baby, and she knew that he was safe, she died of her wounds.

Baby Dev was lifted out on a sling, in critical condition. But today's update relates that the little guy is now standing and walking, feeding from a bottle every two hours, and enjoying salt baths to heal his wounds. He is still stressed and traumatized, and receiving round the clock care.

                                                  elephant calf that fell down revine recovering

Poor little elephant. And what a devoted mother.

To contact IFAW,  email info-ca@ifaw.org
Posted by at
Labels:

6 comments:

  1. CharleneMay 9, 2011 at 7:55 PM

    We humans are lucky to have the animal mom as hero for an example.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 9, 2011 at 11:11 PM

    This is as beautiful a Mother's Day story as I've seen. Not beautiful as in pretty, but beautiful as in remembering the sacrifices we will make for our babes. Charlene is right; she truly was a hero. God rest her soul, knowing she did the right thing. And people have the nerve to think they know more than animals... Amy

    http://sharplittlepencil.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/spring-to-life-again/

    ReplyDelete
  3. annell4May 10, 2011 at 6:39 AM

    That was a touching story. I think all Mothers do the best they can. He will miss his Mother.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Paul Andrew RussellMay 10, 2011 at 6:41 AM

    What a lovely ending to a sad story, Sherry. The little fella survived.

    ReplyDelete
  5. SoumyenduMay 11, 2011 at 12:23 PM

    Wild elephants, if they survive with human help, which they don't do too often, are somehow ostracized by their wild brethren. Amazingly, the baby elephants develop a strong bond with the human children nearabouts, mostly the children of the elephant keepers. Even years later, they can recognize their friends!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Salem LorotMay 15, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    The sacrifice of a mother. So much encouraging as is heart-rending.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate it and will return your visit soon.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)