In the animal world, it happens that young females do not accept their newborn babies: the maternal instincts of such young mothers are still dormant.
In these cases, the cubs either die, or they are lucky to find new guardians who can give the future.
Such a story happened in a British shelter, where the mother abandoned the newborn donkey, but the baby was able to find not only caring people, but also a new mother.
Ben, as the donkey was called, was able to stand on his feet just a few hours after birth.
This pace of development is built into the genetics of herbivores so that they have a chance to escape from predators and follow the herd.
But Ben’s mother was in no hurry to the baby and did not heed his cries and calls.
Then the shelter staff decided to feed Ben themselves.
They mixed baby food with milk and gave him water every 4 hours, but even a well-fed baby continued to scream: he missed his mother.
Then Jingles, a donkey from a neighboring paddock, came to the aid.
Jingles was immediately sympathetic to Ben and gently nudged him with her head as the donkey screamed.
This happened on the third day after birth, and a week later they were running and playing together.
The donkey was always there and behaved like a caring mother: she took care of Ben and tried to protect him from the other donkeys of the shelter.
According to the shelter staff, Ben grew up to be a good and kind donkey, with whom it is pleasant and easy to interact.