Elk or Bison Parenting: Navigating the Extremes

Being a parent is stressful and exhausting. There is no perfect way to raise children but parents always have to deal with thoughts of whether they're doing what's right for their children and for themselves.

Katie Arnold shares an interesting observation about two animals with different styles of parenting: the elks and the bison. In one instance in which she and her family witnessed, an elk mother had left her newborn calf when she sensed danger.

It was late May, the beginning of calving season, and the baby elk was minutes old, its fur still wet. When it saw us, it flopped to the ground, while the cow bolted in the opposite direction, running up a ridge until she was out of sight.
Our guide, Pete, explained, “This is what elk mothers do. When predators approach, they run away, leaving their babies, who aren’t strong enough to walk. Most of the time, the mothers come back for their calves but only after the danger has passed.”

This was different from what bison mothers did explained Pete. Instead of leaving their calves to fend for themselves, they would protect them fiercely. Now, it's obviously different to live in the wild as opposed to living in a more urban environment. But this is a dilemma that parents often face: how to strike a balance in raising children.

(Image credit: Byron Johnson/Unsplash)


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