Rescue
Mother cow gets man’s attention to rescue her newborn calf
What was supposed to be a scenic photo, turned into a rescue mission.
Naomi Lai
10.15.20

We’re always told to take time in life to stop and smell the flowers, but sometimes those small moments can become unexpectedly much more significant.

While cruising through Millford, Ontario on a beautiful day, a motorcyclist named Dave stopped to admire the scenery and take some photos of free-roaming cows in a field.

He saw them all relaxing and playing by a pond, but then noticed one cow in particular was acting strangely.

YouTube Screen Shot
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YouTube Screen Shot

She was mooing loudly and pacing back and forth along the fence. So he got closer to investigate with his camera in hand.

Even the other cows around seemed to notice she was acting strangely, but were unable to help.

To his disbelief, it seemed liked the cow was staring him down, trying to communicate and get his attention.

It seemed like she was trying to lead him to one side of the fence, so he followed. At the end of the property line, on the outside of the fence, there was a newborn calf curled up in the grass.

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YouTube Screen Shot

The newborn had somehow become stranded outside of the fenced area and was separated from the rest of the group, and his mother. She was desperate to rescue him but couldn’t find a way around it.

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YouTube Screen Shot

Dave knew he had to help, but needed to approach the situation with caution.

Mother cows (and basically every other species, including humans) are protective of their children and might attack him if she felt like she or her baby were threatened.

So he took his time and slowly walked over to the calf, checking periodically to make sure the mama seemed okay with it.

He had to gently nudge the newborn under the fence, which was electrical, but set to a low enough intensity that he wasn’t shocked too badly.

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YouTube Screen Shot

Both Dave and the calf sustained some mild shocks, but before long, the calf was reunited with his mother.

It was all worth it.

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YouTube Screen Shot

And she was visibly relieved! She gave Dave an appreciative stare, as if to say “thanks” before bringing her baby back towards the pond and the rest of the group.

Dave went to speak to the farmers of the land and let them know what had happened so they could keep an eye on the little one and make sure he was okay.

They offered to bring him around to see the cows he’d saved, so he went to visit them up close on the inside of the fenced area. He couldn’t believe it when they came over to say hello.

They clearly recognized and remembered him as their rescuer.

YouTube Screen Shot
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YouTube Screen Shot

PETA, one of the world’s largest organization for animal rights, frequently campaigns against poor treatment of farm animals like pigs, goats and cows for multiple reasons. But one of which is that there’s evidence to support cows are highly intelligent, have long term memories, and the ability to remember specific people.

A student at the University of Sydney, Alexandra Green, once conducted a study of cow’s cognitive abilities and proved this theory. Her results suggested that her subjects possessed good decision making skills, could follow sound through a maze, and were overall very intelligent animals.

Unsplash, Wolfgang Hasslemann
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Unsplash, Wolfgang Hasslemann

I bet you never thought you could communicate with a cow like this… but Dave had a whole word-less conversation with this clever mama.

It sounds like he’s made some interesting friends for life! Hopefully he can drive by and visit them whenever he wants, and check on how the baby is doing.

It’s a good thing he was in the right place at the right time!

Click below to see the heartwarming moment that Dave helped rescue this newborn and reunite him with his mom.

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