Thirty years have gone by since my husband died. My son was 100 days old. My years of protecting and educating and having fun with him are almost over. Till my son’s wedding next month I shall be a mother. Then I become a mother in law for the rest of my life. So mothers are very much on my mind. Let’s look at the sterling qualities of other mothers.
Human mothers may turn around when someone else’s child shouts Mummy, but Northern fur seals never make that mistake. When mother goes out to find food she has to find her child in a sea of hundreds of seals, so both mother and pup depend on their uncanny powers of vocal recognition to find one another. Both will call out and answer, responding selectively to one another until they are reunited.
Elephant mothers are hands on mothers that give unconditional and touchy feely love to their children but they also make sure they are disciplined and fed well. If danger threatens, they put their children under them or surround the babies. Always ready to give an affectionate caress, a gentle nudge in the right direction, or a bath to help their babies beat the heat, doting moms maintain constant touch with their young ones, never allowing them to stray too far from their side. Mothers stay in touch with their adult kids and enjoy a close relationship with their daughters.
Cows love their babies immediately. The first minutes after birth are spent developing a bond that will last a lifetime. Throughout life, mother and child maintain social contact and enjoy each other's companionship. Their attachment and affection for each other is so deep that if they are forced apart, they both suffer severe stress, and mothers have been known to escape their enclosures and travel for miles looking for their babies
Dolphins learn how to become mothers by babysitting the babies of other dolphins. Then when they have their own, they are experienced and practical mothers. For instance even while swimming, dolphin mothers and their babies synchronize their breathing for the first few weeks after the babies' birth. Dolphin mothers may nurse their young for up to 10 years.
Nurturing begins in the nest for mother hens, who turn their eggs as many as five times an hour. They also cluck softly to their unborn chicks, who chirp back to them and to one another from within their shells! Once chicks hatch, mothers use their wings to shield their babies from predators and have been known to refuse to leave their nests during a fire if they have newly hatched babies.
Dog mothers on the street choose the most uncomfortable places to give birth but they also know that these are the safest for their children: pipes and sewers and near a house with a gentle human inhabitant. Mothers will starve but will not move far from their puppies for a few days and then she will make short forays to find food. If someone harms a pup, she will attack knowing that she courts trouble. Often she will defend them with her life.
Mother birds distract predators by running away from the nest and daring them to catcher as she pretends to be wounded. Most mothers in the colony will surround a would -be predator of in a shrieking, angry flurry of beaks and feathers.
The alligator mother makes a warm nest for her eggs and when the babies are ready to emerge she digs them out and carries them to the water. Woe betide anyone coming near her children, she turns into the faster runner imaginable and chases off the intruder.
The cheetah is one the most hardworking mothers. She spends all day producing milk to feed the babies. After 6 weeks she hunts to bring them back food. Then she teaches them how to hunt for two years . Its only when her children have learned to hunt that she starts a new family.
The orangutan mom builds a new home for her baby every single night. Between building and finding food there is not a lot of time for cultural pursuits or even finding boyfriends.
Octopus mothers go from egg to mother in a year and then have to look after hundreds of eggs .She finds a secure place where she can lay eggs of her own away from predators. She washes sand off and aerates the eggs with her tentacles everyday which means, she has no time to eat. It will be 40 days for her children to leave home, so she get really hungry. But she would rather eat her own arms than leave the eggs unprotected.
Probably one of the most endearing and loving qualities of a mother’s instinct is that it often transcends their own children or even species. A dog takes on orphaned kittens or a cow that allows an orphaned calf to drink her milk.
The ultimate mother is the animal in the zoo. Most of them kill their babies, specially big cats. They have no intention of letting their young coming into a world as bleak as this. That for me is the ultimate sacrifice because animals like humans love their children. As heart breaking as it is to watch, it is proof that a mothers instinct exists for all creatures on Earth.
What makes all mothers unafraid when it comes to protecting their children? Scientific research published in Behavioral Neuroscience says that new mothers have reduced levels of a peptide, or small piece of protein, released in the brain that normally activates fear and anxiety. I have been a new mother for thirty years now. After next month I am sure my peptides will increase.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Human mothers may turn around when someone else’s child shouts Mummy, but Northern fur seals never make that mistake. When mother goes out to find food she has to find her child in a sea of hundreds of seals, so both mother and pup depend on their uncanny powers of vocal recognition to find one another. Both will call out and answer, responding selectively to one another until they are reunited.
Elephant mothers are hands on mothers that give unconditional and touchy feely love to their children but they also make sure they are disciplined and fed well. If danger threatens, they put their children under them or surround the babies. Always ready to give an affectionate caress, a gentle nudge in the right direction, or a bath to help their babies beat the heat, doting moms maintain constant touch with their young ones, never allowing them to stray too far from their side. Mothers stay in touch with their adult kids and enjoy a close relationship with their daughters.
Cows love their babies immediately. The first minutes after birth are spent developing a bond that will last a lifetime. Throughout life, mother and child maintain social contact and enjoy each other's companionship. Their attachment and affection for each other is so deep that if they are forced apart, they both suffer severe stress, and mothers have been known to escape their enclosures and travel for miles looking for their babies
Dolphins learn how to become mothers by babysitting the babies of other dolphins. Then when they have their own, they are experienced and practical mothers. For instance even while swimming, dolphin mothers and their babies synchronize their breathing for the first few weeks after the babies' birth. Dolphin mothers may nurse their young for up to 10 years.
Nurturing begins in the nest for mother hens, who turn their eggs as many as five times an hour. They also cluck softly to their unborn chicks, who chirp back to them and to one another from within their shells! Once chicks hatch, mothers use their wings to shield their babies from predators and have been known to refuse to leave their nests during a fire if they have newly hatched babies.
Dog mothers on the street choose the most uncomfortable places to give birth but they also know that these are the safest for their children: pipes and sewers and near a house with a gentle human inhabitant. Mothers will starve but will not move far from their puppies for a few days and then she will make short forays to find food. If someone harms a pup, she will attack knowing that she courts trouble. Often she will defend them with her life.
Mother birds distract predators by running away from the nest and daring them to catcher as she pretends to be wounded. Most mothers in the colony will surround a would -be predator of in a shrieking, angry flurry of beaks and feathers.
The alligator mother makes a warm nest for her eggs and when the babies are ready to emerge she digs them out and carries them to the water. Woe betide anyone coming near her children, she turns into the faster runner imaginable and chases off the intruder.
The cheetah is one the most hardworking mothers. She spends all day producing milk to feed the babies. After 6 weeks she hunts to bring them back food. Then she teaches them how to hunt for two years . Its only when her children have learned to hunt that she starts a new family.
The orangutan mom builds a new home for her baby every single night. Between building and finding food there is not a lot of time for cultural pursuits or even finding boyfriends.
Octopus mothers go from egg to mother in a year and then have to look after hundreds of eggs .She finds a secure place where she can lay eggs of her own away from predators. She washes sand off and aerates the eggs with her tentacles everyday which means, she has no time to eat. It will be 40 days for her children to leave home, so she get really hungry. But she would rather eat her own arms than leave the eggs unprotected.
Probably one of the most endearing and loving qualities of a mother’s instinct is that it often transcends their own children or even species. A dog takes on orphaned kittens or a cow that allows an orphaned calf to drink her milk.
The ultimate mother is the animal in the zoo. Most of them kill their babies, specially big cats. They have no intention of letting their young coming into a world as bleak as this. That for me is the ultimate sacrifice because animals like humans love their children. As heart breaking as it is to watch, it is proof that a mothers instinct exists for all creatures on Earth.
What makes all mothers unafraid when it comes to protecting their children? Scientific research published in Behavioral Neuroscience says that new mothers have reduced levels of a peptide, or small piece of protein, released in the brain that normally activates fear and anxiety. I have been a new mother for thirty years now. After next month I am sure my peptides will increase.
Maneka Gandhi
To join the animal welfare movement contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.