Is There A "Baby-Sitter" Instinct?

~Photo by Nancy

Did you know that cows get babysitters?

Well, it's true.

New (cow) moms usually hang out with other new moms and their babies.  Once in a while, though, you will see one momma cow and a bunch of babies together.

Where are the other moms?

I learned from the Ranchers that the cows will actually leave their babies with the one "sitter" cow, while they wander off for a little "alone time".  I didn't believe it at first.  Could the need to get a little "Me Time" be a part of Mother Nature's way of keeping a good balance?

Could following the example of a COW make us better moms?  It sounds funny, but it's something to consider, don't you think?

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Okay, so here's another funny thing that cow moms do...

When the calves are still tiny, the momma cow will plop the baby under a bush or some scrub brush and walk away.  The funny thing is that the baby will not move....no matter what...until momma gets back.

One day, while Ben was out helping a Rancher check his cows, his job was to find the new babies that had been born that week;  Just to make sure they were all accounted for.  Counting over and over he just couldn't seem to find the newest baby of them all.  The mom was grazing, so he was confused.  "Could the baby have been taken by a pack of Coyotes during the night?" he wondered.

After wandering around for a while he finally stopped, put his hands on his hips and looked around.  As his head dropped down before taking another step, he noticed the teeny-tiny calf under his foot.  He had to stumble in order to avoid STEPPING on the baby calf, who stared up at him with big glistening black eyes.

*Photo by www.idahofair.com*