This newborn elephant cried for five hours without stopping after he was rejected by his mother.
Vets hoped it was an accident when the youngster’s parent stepped on him after he was born at a wildlife park.
They treated his injuries and returned him to her two hours later – only for her to attack him again.
A keeper drove the mother off as the calf sobbed under a blanket.
One worker explained: ‘The calf was very upset and he was crying for five hours before he could be consoled.
‘He couldn’t bear to be parted from his mother and it was his mother who was trying to kill him.’
The new arrival, called Zhuang-zhuang, has now been adopted by the keeper who saved him at the Shendiaoshan wild animal reserve in Rong-cheng, China.
‘They have made a good bond,’ said a spokesman for the park. ‘We don’t knowwhy the mother turned on her calf but we couldn’t take a chance.’
Living in captivity outside of traditional family groups can interfere with animals’ protective instincts towards their young.
Source
Vets hoped it was an accident when the youngster’s parent stepped on him after he was born at a wildlife park.
They treated his injuries and returned him to her two hours later – only for her to attack him again.
A keeper drove the mother off as the calf sobbed under a blanket.
One worker explained: ‘The calf was very upset and he was crying for five hours before he could be consoled.
‘He couldn’t bear to be parted from his mother and it was his mother who was trying to kill him.’
The new arrival, called Zhuang-zhuang, has now been adopted by the keeper who saved him at the Shendiaoshan wild animal reserve in Rong-cheng, China.
‘They have made a good bond,’ said a spokesman for the park. ‘We don’t knowwhy the mother turned on her calf but we couldn’t take a chance.’
Living in captivity outside of traditional family groups can interfere with animals’ protective instincts towards their young.
Source
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This was so sad...I feel so bad for the baby elephant, it broke my heart.
The mother probably thinks that the life in the wildlife park is a life of misery she does not want her baby to know...
its not ok to live in captivity for elephants and other wild animals - I also believe that the mother rejected it for not having to live behind bars...
Living in captivity is not likely considered elephant heaven ~ w/o access to birth control she may have been choosing to euthanize her calf and spare it a life of indignity and continued captivity. Sure she wasn't given a choice whether or not she would be impregnated in the first place. Just saying... When captive animals are behaving violently, I look at the keepers.
Poor baby, made me cry. then I cried for thoughtless mankind . Thank goodness for the keeper that adopted the baby.
Living in captivity? Pretty sure this goes on in nature. All The *intelligent* animals seems to have a liking to killing their young.
Take daulphins for example, the males will kill any baby that is not theirs in order to force the female back into baby mode.
Lions do the same thing too.
Face it. Animals are savage and irrational. Sure intelligent. But basically They are like a human with an extra chromosome in how they think. lol. Cuz well they do have extra chromosomes right? xD
I never want to see a baby being rejected by it's mother. This does happen in nature, not every baby survives. Thank the Lord for the keeper and stepping in to help it survive. Hopefully the herd will accept him later.
I saved a baby duckling one time when its mother tried to kill it. She first tried to just reject the duckling and make it leave but the duckling cried and cried and followed her so she attacked it and tried to kill it. I later found out the duckling was deaf. Because it was deaf, it made noises that drew the attention of predators. I believe the mother duck was trying to protect the rest of her ducklings by getting rid of the deaf duckling who would draw prey to them all. They might discover there is something wrong with the baby elephant. Or there might be something wrong with it and they might not ever figure it out.
Is to sad but probably mom try to "protect" the baby just killing him and dont suffer in a zoo...after all is like jail for a crime they didnt committed..
Some times the mother knows that there is something wrong with the baby animals have the second sense that we don't.
I hope that the zookeeper can intergrate the baby into the herd. It would be a shame if all he did was to prolong the fate of the baby elephant.
Extremely sad situation - poor little mite. I hope as the prior person the zookeeper can integrate baby into the herd.
This is common for animals in captivity because although we may think they are happy they are actually trying to protect their young by killing them to save them from a life of misery
This is common for animals in captivity because although we may think they are happy they are actually trying to protect their young by killing them to save them from a life of misery
i to believe that there might be something wrong with the baby that the mother unstintingly knew. A comment above spoke words that indicated nature is lower than humans are. That it is wrong to kill its own young to start the procreation again. Well, to remember that when it comes to procreating in nature that many animals (males) are extremely competitive. When it comes to anything getting in the way of mating or his time with a female that the competition will be shown the door in a number of ways. The bear will kill his own if a it is a male.
However here when it comes to elephants and the bonds that they have specially the mother/baby bond i firmly believe that the mother was either - 1)saving it from a life of a lack of freedom and possible abuse in one form or another that the mother experienced or, 2) there is something wrong with the health of the baby and it will cause her and the baby more or needless suffering. Something that she knows. Never underestimate the instincts of a mother in nature. These and many other animals are some of the most wisest of "ALL" living creators. I put humans at the bottom of the list of knowing how to thrive on this planet just like we were the last to arrive. Nature came first because it is first. I experienced a mother bird pushing a baby (cannot fly yet) out of the nest which died on impact at the ground.
I am very alone for the most part when it comes to a baby being born and being mentally or physically handicapped in a severe way. Human or animal they should all be pushed out of the nest. I am sure most of you hate me right know. I am also sure that there might be a few that agree but are not brave enough to admit it. Think of the reasons why nature does it. "Never will nature say one thing and wisdom something else"
This mother did not want a life of captivity for her offspring...why in hell are these elephants there??? for our own selfish purpose ...entertainment, entertainment...disgusting!
Did you know that captive mocking birds are given poison seeds by his fellow mocking birds...and the bird happily eats them!!! give me liberty or give me death!
When will people learn that 99% of animals do not have logic and reason capabilities like us humans. We humans seem to think that they think like us.... We tend to caterogise and think that the animals think like us. THEY DON"T - so wake up people...... I would say that there is something wrong with the baby, and this is why she rejected it, or she is a first time Mum, and did not understand what she was supposed to do. I have worked with Animals, so I am talking from first hand.... They do not have the same capabilities that we humans have - If they did "The Horse" would not allow us to domesticate them...... So therefore the Mum Elephant did not think that she would kill her baby so that it wouldn't have to live in captivity..... She attacked it as there was something wrong with it, or as I said a first time Mum......