A baby elephant wept for five hours straight after zookeepers removed him from his mother.
The baby elephant was born last August in the Shendiaoshan Wild Animal Nature Reserve in Rongcheng, China, hortyl after which his mother tried to step on him. Hoping that it had been an accident, veterinarians took the baby away and treating his minor injuries before returning him-only to have the mother try stomping him again, a deliberate act that meant she was rejecting him. It was then that zookeepers decided that it would be better if they took him away from her completely.
The calf was seen to be very "upset," crying for five hours. Zookeepers have initially tried in vain to console him, but it was pining for its mother, who ironically did not want him. He could not be returned to his mother as of yet, because she might attempt to stomp on him again.
Employees at the zoo have taken it upon themselves to care for the baby elephant, naming him Zhuangzhuang and treating his injuries. He is doing a lot better as of now, and has bonded to the zookeeper who had rescued him, and later adopted him.
There is much debate when it comes to crying animals, as crying may be defined in two ways: first, as a manner of producing tears for lubricating the eyes; second, as response to emotion. It is a widely held belief that animals do not have emotion, but the case of weeping baby Zhuangzhuang argues otherwise.
Elephants are known to be very emotional creatures, showing joy by making trumpeting sounds and making a show of flapping their ears. After a birth, females bellow and blare in what seems to be a celebratory gesture. Elephants are also renowned for exhibiting grief, for mourning their dead relatives by circling the corpses or touching the bones where they lay.
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