The mother giraffe gives birth standing up, so the first thing that happens to a new-born giraffe is a fall of about two metres.
Still
dazed, the baby tries to stand up on its four legs, but its mother
behaves very strangely: she gives the baby giraffe a gentle kick which
sends it sprawling. It tries to get up and is again knocked down.
This
process is repeated several times, until the new-born giraffe is too
exhausted to stand. At that point, the mother kicks it again, forcing it
to get to its feet. After that, she does not push the baby giraffe over
again.
The explanation is simple: in order to survive predators, the first lesson a giraffe must learn is to get to its feet quickly.
The
mother’s apparent cruelty finds support in an Arabic proverb:
“Sometimes, in order to teach something good, you have to be a little
rough.”
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