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A mother like no other
She's never had puppies of her own, but this sweet Labrador has been a mother to a variety of different animals.
Fri, Oct 21 2011 at 1:31 PM
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ARE YOU MY MOTHER?: Lisha cuddles with two abandoned tiger cubs. (Photo: ZUMA Press)
Lisha, a Labrador, is world famous for her mothering skills even though she’s never birthed any pups of her own. The dog, who lives at Oudtshoorn’s Cango Wildlife Ranch in South Africa, has played surrogate mom to more than 30 animals, including cheetah and tiger cubs, potbelly pigs, a porcupine, a pygmy hippo, a weasel and a barn owl.
Rob Hall, director of the wildlife refuge, says that Lisha domesticates the wild animals and serves as a bridge between them and humans. “They adjust more easily to her, and when they see that she trusts us, they are more at ease around us," he said.
Hall and his wife, Nadine, said they noticed early on that regardless of the whether Lisha encountered a kitten or a baby hippo, she treated them all the same — like a child that needed a mother. "She would just walk up and lick the creature she was caring for. Although in the case of the porcupine that was more amusing," Rob Hall told The Daily Mail.
Check out some other photos of Lisha and her many "children."
Photos: ZUMA Press
Also on MNN: 16 unlikely animal friendships
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Hippos are not evil. Stupid and greedy people polute their rivers, destroy their habitat, invade theri space and then complain and call them evil when they act like hippos. Get real.
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
Totally agree. What a beautiful statement.
AMEN, AMEN to what llinda871 has said!!.
Negative comments or not, as long as you gave kibble, you can say anything you want.
That said, I wonder what this world would be like if we had no pets to care for?
Way to go Lisha!
deeply unsatisfying...a huge hole in my life for sure!!
No pets? I think that's a world not worth living in.....
Those pictures are sooo cute!
It shows that we all can get along...if the animals can get along, then why can't we? You go Lisha!!!
We can't get along because humans have EGOs.
That is beautiful....Animals have so much to teach us...you lovely affectionate girl...xx
That might be the most frickin precious thing I've ever seen in my life! Animals never cease to amaze me...
What a wonderful story! Lisha deserves the "Mom of the Century" award!
OMG she is so adorable. Good for her! She is everything a baby animal and their parents could hope for.
What a wonderful foster mother. More humans, like animals, could use mothers like this. She just bridges the gaps. It's like she's Mother Teresa. God Bless her and all her baby loves...
Irregardless of lactation, she, as a female animal, saw these other cubs and pups needed a "bridge" between the animal kingdom which they were orphaned by and the human world where she completely understood what was needed of them from the humans. A truly gifted dog in the exact place on earth the good Lord needs her. Awesome!
If you look at her chest in the one picture that shows, she is not lactating, has no 'dinner plates' going there. I believe the story is talking about nuturing the babies, not nourishing them.
What an amazing mother she is! If all humans showed that kind of love for others, what a wonderful world this would be
Is this healthy for the surrogate Lab Mother? Does she ever get a break from nursing? I feel for her! Perhaps they should use more surrogates to give her a break? Nice story, I just worry about the Lab and what's in her best interest as well.
Stop and think....if the Lab has never had a litter she can't produce milk so she doesn't nurse them at all....just loves, licks and cuddles them. .
You are WRONG. Lactating can be induced w/o the birthing process. Even human women have been able to lactate in the absence of a pregnancy.
Do NOT insult others just because you do not know the scientific facts.
Quite frankly, I wonder why these posts seem to always find
a couple of negative comments...when, in fact, the other party
really wasn't being negative, just a bit misinformed....a little sad,
actually.
Well said Maurice. I was thinking the same thing. It is sad.
Heck, even MEN have produced milk to nurse their children. I watched a documentary on it once. There was a gay male couple who adopted a daughter. One of the men nursed her exclusively for an entire year! Incredible (: I don't think Lisha is nursing all those babies though, she's just being motherly, which is still absolutely amazing!
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