Animal Instincts

Getting a campfire relit from the previous night's embers is one of the most frustrating as well as satisfying of all camping tasks. One has to find the right dry twigs and do plenty of blowing and puffing and after much gentle coaxing one is rewarded with a few licks of flame that then has to be slowly built into a decent fire. All this takes plenty of focused attention and I was totally engrossed. When i finally had a fire going i looked up, very much self satisfied, and that's when i noticed that in all the time i was busy trying to get the fire going, a sheep had quietly delivered a baby no more than a few feet away. She was at that very moment gently licking the little bundle lying on the ground, all covered with placental fluids. I watched fascinated at the mother and the baby. The mother was diligently licking the baby, nibbling away the slime, and the baby was making equally diligent efforts to totter up on its gangling twiggly legs. The fascinating duet continued for many minutes and finally the baby was on its feet. I silently applauded the spirit of the little one and egged it on towards what i knew would be its first task. And sure enough, instinctively the little bugger searched for its mama's teats. But the moment the baby got near the teats the mama smartly twisted out of its way, all the while continuing to nibble at the baby's hide. I was disappointed and silently cheered the baby to try again. But again the moment the baby got near the teats the mom twisted out of its way. I was taken aback and getting a little cross with the sheep. Why was she not nursing the baby. That's what all moms do. I kept watching the scene for at least half an hour. The baby's efforts got stronger and more eager, yet every time it got anywhere near the teats, the mom would twist away. I was befuddled. Eventually i just turned away, thoroughly disappointed with the mom. Much later i was chatting with a shepherd and he explained. It seems that when a baby is born in cold weather the mom will instinctively focus all her efforts and attention on cleaning up the baby. She knows that the longer she takes to clean it up the higher is that chance that the fluid would freeze the baby to death. And as far as not nursing it was concerned, again she knew instinctively that if she nurses the baby before its properly cleaned up, the milk would instantly warm the baby from inside and the fluid on the outside would not allow it to cool off, effectively putting the baby's life at risk due to a thermal shock.