Posted on 01/21/2005 10:44:17 AM PST by jmhfnyc
A lioness in Kenya has adopted another baby oryx - her third in as many months, game wardens at the northern Samburu National Park have reported. The lioness is said to allow a female oryx several minutes each day to feed the new-born calf.
The last calf was killed while she was sleeping
snip One was seen in her company in December last year, but it was eaten by other lions after two weeks. Another calf was taken away from her in February and placed in a zoo because it showed signs of malnourishment.
Dangers
The chief game warden in Samburu, Simon Leirana, said that the lioness was seen with a baby oryx no more then three days old early on Saturday.
"We are baffled. We do not know what to do with this third oryx," said Mr Leirana.
Lions, like all the other species, including human beings, have this kind of feelings for babies
snip
Grief stricken
When the last calf was eaten by a male lion while she slept, the lioness was said to have been stricken with grief - she went around roaring in anger.
Cases of lionesses showing maternal affection for animals they would normally see as prey are not unprecedented, conservationist Daphne Sheldrick said.
"It does happen, but it's quite unusual. Lions, like all the other species, including human beings, have this kind of feelings for babies," she said.
Local newspapers have noted that all three adoptions occurred on significant days - Christmas, Valentine's Day and Good Friday.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
On the farm we had a sheep that nursed on the dog. Dang sheep thought it was a dog all it's life and would only eat dog food.
But the lamb won't get much sleep.
My cousin thought she was a chicken. The Doctor offered some medicine for treatment. But we wouldn't give her the medicine. We needed the eggs.
Local newspapers have noted that all three adoptions occurred on significant days - Christmas, Valentine's Day and Good Friday.
This makes me skeptical of the whole thing. I'm sure the lioness knew it was a holiday, and adopted the baby animal in order to get an article written about it. And coincidentally the lion's astrological sign was leo, which explained it's want to be a star. She really enjoys the fame, but lately it has put a lot of pressure on her. Some suspect she is nursing the thing just to fatten it up for a meaty meal on a bad day.
Its a pretty clever lion that raises its own food.
Is this the same lioness that nursed 4 antelope calfs (at different times) in 2003?
It is not a hoax. I saw this.
The story date line is April 2002
I guess the lioness must have lost her cubs, and that her maternal instinct took over and she started adopting calves. In several cases she would even let the calf suckle from the mother antelope (in all cases the mother antelope would shadow the strange pair, and every now and then the lioness would move away so that the calf could suckle. Sadly, sooner or later, the mother antelope would always stop following the pair).
Anyways, a very strange and intriguing story. I went out of my way to always keep track of what was going on (since i haven't been in Kenya since 1999), but the reports stopped once armed guards started protecting the pair (which is probably a good thing since tourists would pester the pair by driving too close).
Here's a related story: The Hippo and the Tortoise
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4152447.stm
Guardian Newspapers, 10/7/2002
Kamuniak the dysfunctional lioness has forfeited another meal by adopting her fifth baby oryx this year, an aberration of nature which has baffled wildlife experts.
The young lioness in the Samburu national park in northern Kenay adopted her latest baby at the weekend, a wildlife service warden said yesterday.
Each time Kamuniak, whose name means "the blessed one" in the local Samburu tongue, has tried to protect the antelopes from other predators and allowed the natural mothers to feed them.
Unfortunately for her, one oryx ended up in the belly of a male lion while Kamuniak slept; the others were either rescued by wardens or retrieved by their natural mothers.
The wardens think the latest adoptee, nicknamed Naisimari ("taken by force"), was adopted at the weekend.
"She must have adopted her on Sunday because they are in harmony," said Gabriel Lepariyo, a warden.
Naisimari's natural mother has been seen shadowing the odd couple at a distance.
Theories to explain the phenonemon abound: not having her own cubs, Kamuniak is lonely; she is colour-blind and short-sighted and thinks the calves are cubs; the oryx were too frail to flee, breaking the classic prey behaviour and confusing the hunter; Kamuniak wants to be a vegetarian; Kamuniak wants to be loved.
© Guardian Newspapers Limited
so how does she get these baby oryxes?
I thought dead mother oryx, but if a oryx comes to nurse the baby, then another question:
What kind of insanely courageous oryx walks into a lion's den to nurse her baby?
Mrs Vs
Quite interesting.
That is bad!
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