To celebrate Mothers' Day this Sunday I thought we could share a few film clips showing some of the more unusual maternal bonds from the animal world.
We'll kick off with this TV news clip which contains a selection of fascinating mother-baby bonds between different species.
It of course goes against a predator’s natural instincts to ‘adopt’ and care for a baby of a prey species. However this amazing clip shows a female leopard defending and looking after a baby baboon.
In another similar and equally unlikely cross-species relationship, a lioness defies her natural instincts to kill a baby antelope who would normally be her supper. Instead she protects the vulnerable youngster.
These wonderful clips show animals behaving ‘naturally’ in the wild. Other unusual animal partnerships have been reported and captured on film though these are often in unnatural conditions such as safari parks.
This selection of footage reminds us that although all animal mothers have an inbuilt maternal instinct to protect and care for their babies, there is more to a mother-baby relationship than just instinctive behaviour. These unusual relationships show that these animals clearly have the ability to feel complex emotions.
Speaking of emotions, get your hankies at the ready for this lovely final clip which shows a mother cow and her calf being re-united. Enjoy.
If you know of any more footage or stories of unusual maternal behaviour please do share it below.