There is nothing more powerful and important than the bond between a mother and her baby. This is true regardless of species.
Mother cows have very close relationships with their little ones. They are extremely protective and will do everything in their power to keep their babies by their side. As a touching video posted by The Gentle Barn says, the maternal instinct of cows is equivalent to that of human mothers. Sadly, not all baby cows are allowed to remain with their mothers once humans get involved.
The Gentle Barn is a sanctuary for farmed animals. That includes Karma, a gorgeous brown and white cow who is the focus of the emotional video. She is one of the lucky ones because she was rescued by the sanctuary. What they did not know at they were trailering her to her new home was that they were leaving her baby behind.
The person who previously owned Karma hid the baby from them so that they had no idea why Karma seemed upset after her rescue. She cried out repeatedly through the night and into the next morning, desperately searching for the calf she had been unintentionally torn away from.
The rescuers could tell something was terribly wrong. When they noticed that she was leaking milk from her udders, they understood what must have happened. They quickly called Karma’s old owner and were eventually able to convince him to give them her baby as well.
Karma and her calf were reunited just in time. Her baby, Mr. Rojas, was badly weakened by the lack of his mother’s milk in their time apart.
The mourning mother’s bellowing cries resumed as soon as the trailer carrying Mr. Rojas rolled up to her pen. She knew her baby was home at last. Rescuers led the small calf down the ramp of the trailer and towards Karma as she continued to call to him. He cried back with a small and tired voice, then tried to run to her. That action was too much for him in his weakened state and he collapsed on the ground.
With Karma’s cries urging him on and some assistance from the rescuers, Mr. Rojas managed to get back on his hooves and walked into the pen to be reunited with Karma. He then collapsed again but managed to stand up quickly. At last, he was able to nurse. Karma’s cries ceased – she was at peace with her baby by her side.
The Gentle Barn’s thought-provoking and emotional video ends with a quote from Albert Einstein: “Our task must be to free ourselves… by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”
Since the reunion of mother and son, Karma has given birth to a second baby boy. The three of them will live out their lives together in peace at The Gentle Barn.