The mother giraffe gives birth
standing up, so the first thing that happens to a new-born giraffe is a fall of
about two meters.
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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