Honest Emotions

In more ways than one, animals are better creatures than man. They are honest in their emotions, and true in the actions. It is strange how we humans believe ourselves to be better than them, while in fact we are much baser creatures. Some amazing tales of animal behaviour surfaces from time to time and they always leave me amazed, and spell bound. I received a mail, today which made me smile, and left me moist eyed too. It also brought to surface the other great tales I know of animals, who reciprocate and display love and gratefulness, in the purest form of the emotion.Giving up even the possibility of a great meal. I could not but help share some here.

I remember reading a poem/story in school about a man getting caught in a storm in the woods, in a cold winter night. He finds shelter in a cave, where there is also a huge bear seeking refuge from the storm. The two spend the night hugging each other for warmth and comfort, safe in the knowledge they needed each other for survival. A fierce beast living in harmony with man.

(Photo Courtesy - http://www.lazydesis.com/chai-time/55419-miracle-lioness-kalmuniak.html)

An even more amazing story is of lioness Kalmuniak in central Kenya's Samburu Forest Reserve. She could not have babies of her own, but her maternal instinct was as strong as any other's. Quoting from the article

In Biology, we know that there exist the thing called food chain. It could be like this: soil nutrients consumed by grass, grass consumed by deer, deer consumed by lion, lion die consumed by microorganism into soil nutrients, and so on. The food pyramid draws on who eat who and who get eaten by who. This means, an oryx, a kind of horned deer living in Africa, is a food to wolves, leopard, lion or other predators.

However, as what was reported in BBC 7 January 2002, A lioness in central Kenya has baffled wildlife experts by adopting a baby oryx. Reports say the full-grown lioness came across the oryx two weeks ago in the Samburu Game Reserve, scaring off its mother. Instead of then attacking the defenceless calf, the lioness adopted the baby, protecting it from other predators, including a leopard.

The local witnesses stated that every evening the lioness and the baby oryx would rest together. The lioness would curl up her body to the side of the oryx. The lioness even allowed the real oryx mother to come playing with the baby oryx, giving the baby milk. When the baby gets full, the lioness would then chase away the mother to go.

That also means extra work for the lioness, for she has to protect the baby oryx. In any way, the oryx do rise the appetite of her predator relatives, many other lions would love to meal on the oryx.

I had seen the entire documentary on this on Nat Geo, and it was unbelievable. Kalmuniak, could not go and hunt for herself, because that would leave the calf vulnerable. Eventually she got too weak to move, and it was then that a lion hunted down the oryx. She was too weak to protect it any longer. Even after the death of this oryx, she is reported to have mothered the young ones of other species.

And this is the photo mail, I received, the one which started the chain of thought.

(Text - Sitting in a 3.8 metre sea kayak and watching a four metre great white approach you is a fairly tense experience)

It's happening off the South Australian coast, near Port Lincoln.