This post is on request from one of my blog readers. The question was whether animal's parents reject their young ones if touched by humans.
The answer is - in general, no. It is common in rodents but rarely a case occurs in large animals. Yes, they will reject only if too much human handling is done.
I recently read about this incident that happened in Yellowstone national park of US. A young bison calf was rejected by the entire herd after some silly tourists picked it up and stored at the back of their vehicle thinking to protect it from cold. But, when the park rangers were reuniting the animal back with the herd, very sadly the herd rejected it. Later, park rangers euthanized the poor animal as it would have had come in contact with vehicles on the road. How sad!!
In all national parks and sanctuaries people are prohibited to not only hunt wildlife, but to touch and feed also. However, licensed (controlled hunting) is allowed in specific countries.
But, being touched by humans cannot be the only reason why female animals reject their young ones. Other reasons could be undernourished young ones or lazy to be a mother etc.
The answer is - in general, no. It is common in rodents but rarely a case occurs in large animals. Yes, they will reject only if too much human handling is done.
I recently read about this incident that happened in Yellowstone national park of US. A young bison calf was rejected by the entire herd after some silly tourists picked it up and stored at the back of their vehicle thinking to protect it from cold. But, when the park rangers were reuniting the animal back with the herd, very sadly the herd rejected it. Later, park rangers euthanized the poor animal as it would have had come in contact with vehicles on the road. How sad!!
In all national parks and sanctuaries people are prohibited to not only hunt wildlife, but to touch and feed also. However, licensed (controlled hunting) is allowed in specific countries.
But, being touched by humans cannot be the only reason why female animals reject their young ones. Other reasons could be undernourished young ones or lazy to be a mother etc.
nice
ReplyDelete