It’s always magnificent to witness life being born.
It’s one of the biggest mysteries of life and how life grows inside. From the time they form in the womb to the moment they’re born.
This is why every birth is worth the celebration, especially when you go through so many trials to get there.
But this is more remarkable for animals because they differ from us somehow.
Whether they’re hatched from an egg or born alive, we never really know how animals reproduce.
While there are some similarities to human birth, the differences between them and us always leave people in awe.
For those animals that hatch from eggs, it would take a while for the egg to form an even longer time to wait for the eggs to hatch.
On the other hand, those animals born alive have more resemblance to how humans give birth, and the differences lie in the gestation period, labor time, and many more.
These differences make animal birth fascinating.
Some animals give birth to their young already with teeth and can eat solid food (guinea pigs, for example).
Others could already stand and walk after a few minutes or days after they’re born.
These are things that would take years for humans!
One of those animals is cows, and their birthing (or calving) process is fantastic.
Their gestation period is almost the same as humans at 283 days or nine months and one week.
However, their calving (or when they start delivering the baby) lasts only 30 minutes.
A pregnant cow would lie down, and its water bag will break.
After that, the baby starts coming out – front hooves first – until their entirely out.
Once the baby is out, the mother immediately stands and takes care of her calf.
Just like when this highland cow in Dale Farm gave birth to her cow.
It was a marvelous sight to see seeing how a mother cow immediately groomed her calf when she saw it out and on the ground.
She kept licking and nuzzling the young one, grooming him clean.
A few minutes later, the calf started his first few attempts at standing.
As expected, he fell and stumbled more than a few times.
He was still trying to figure out how to find his balance.
Of course, he was still familiarizing with what his body could do minutes after birth.
Then, he finally found his balance and attempted his baby steps!
He tried to keep his balance, and you’ll see his wobbly legs as he took his first steps.
Little by little, inch by inch, he started moving on his own.
Oh, the struggle of this calf was heartwarming to watch, especially as you can see the mother mooing as if cheering him on.
Calves are reliant on their mothers in the first few hours.
They stick to them most of the time and find them suckling from their mother for sustenance. A cow’s calving is only the start of a stronger, deeper bond between the mother and her calf until they’re big enough to fend for themselves.
Watch the calf take his first few steps in the video below.
