There are no other person’s children. There is especially much evidence of this in the animal world… A team of volunteers recently rescued an orphaned baby lynx, and they didn’t know where to find him a ‘foster’ mother. They decided to introduce the baby to a cat who had been living at the shelter for a long time…
Not long ago, a wildlife rescue organisation rescued an orphaned lynx, who was only six weeks old. This happened in the American state of New Hampshire. The centre decided to take care of the baby, and placed it in the caring hands of the staff of the local shelter. The baby was crying and pining all the time – at such a tender age it needed its mother badly.
The shelter has decided to introduce the lynx to a cat called Honeybun, who has lived at the shelter for a long time. It was once rescued together with its kittens, and it has been living next door to the staff ever since. They thought they could try visiting the two together – and see if the cat and the baby lynx could get along.
Although Honeybun already seemed to have forgotten its motherly duties, when it saw the little lynx, it knew it had to help. The first time it met it, it calmly waited for the little one to approach it. The lynx immediately fell in love with the cat, sniffed it, hugged it, and seemed to accept it as its mother – which the staff were very happy about.
They haven’t parted since then. The baby is always watching its new mother, learning its habits. It has already learned from Haniban how to wash its face, how to eat properly and other important things. “They have been doing everything together for a week now, they have a wonderful relationship. They cuddle, eat, sleep and play together,” says a shelter employee who has taken in the couple.
When the little lynx grows up, it will probably be transferred to a nature reserve, or later released into the wild. Haniban, on the other hand, will continue to live at the shelter, where it is loved with all their hearts. Or maybe it’ll find permanent owners. That’s the sweetest story ever!
