Parents share a unique bond with their children. From love and care to grief, everything is limitless, if its for their babies.
And just like human beings, the following instances prove that animals too display these emotions, at times.
1. This Orca Whale carried her stillborn baby on her head for 17 days before letting it sink.
Refusing to part with her child that was born dead, Tahlequah – the whale, held on to her calf while swimming in the water.
She recently became a mother again, last week.
2. This same-sex penguin couple adopted an egg, incubated it together and welcomed their baby.
Two female penguins, Viola and Electra, welcomed their adopted chick in the Oceanografic Aquarium, Valencia, Spain.
3. This cat adopted a litter of puppies after losing all her kittens soon after birth.
4. When a young lioness in the Gir National Park treated a leopard cub as its own in a rare case of cross-species adoption.
Studies suggest that the lions and leopards of Gir National Park, in Gujarat normally do not get along. But, a young lioness put this enmity aside after she adopted a 2-month old baby leopard.
5. When this leopard gave birth to a healthy litter in a Nashik village and carefully shifted them to their natural habitat.
As per reports, the leopard chose to give birth in the village instead of the forest because she wanted a comfortable dry place for her cubs.
6. When this cat adopted the newly born ducklings while she was milking.
Generally, cats gobble up birds. But this cat took the newly-hatched ducklings as her own and even nursed them with milk. The mother cat also ensured that the ducklings were not harmed by the kittens and she protected them from predators.
7. When this elephant finally got the chance to meet her daughter and granddaughters after a long gap of 12 years.
8. When a stray cat carried her sick kitten to the hospital emergency room.
The medical staff rushed to check the duo and ensured that they get proper food and care.
9. When mommy koala hugged its baby while sitting on a branch of a tree that was burnt during the Australian bushfires.
The duo was then taken to a wildlife hospital for treatment.
So much love.