Scottish farmer Steve owned a small herd of dairy cows and had always kept a close eye on them. One day, something unusual caught his attention. Lila, his best cow in terms of milk production, had suddenly stopped giving milk entirely. This puzzled Steve, as Lila had always produced more milk than any other cow in the herd. Concerned, Steve called the local veterinarian to check on her. After a thorough examination, the vet assured Steve that Lila was perfectly healthy. With no obvious explanation, Steve decided to investigate the situation further by observing Lila more closely, particularly when she was out grazing in the pasture near the edge of the forest.
Steve had always taken his cows to graze in a clearing by the forest, where they had plenty of space to roam. However, he noticed that Lila had started to behave differently. Instead of staying with the rest of the herd, she would often lag behind and sometimes even wander off alone. This unusual behavior sparked Steve’s curiosity, and one evening he decided to follow her to see what was going on. He quietly trailed Lila as she wandered away from the herd and into the trees, making sure to keep his distance so as not to startle her. After walking for a while, Steve arrived at a hidden clearing, sheltered by trees and completely out of sight.
To his surprise, Lila was standing protectively over a small calf. It became clear to Steve that Lila had given birth in secret and had been hiding her newborn calf from him and the other farm workers. Based on the calf’s size and behavior, Steve guessed that Lila had brought the calf to this hidden spot a few weeks ago. She had likely been trying to keep the calf out of sight to avoid the usual practice on the farm, where newborn calves were immediately separated from their mothers and raised in a different part of the farm until they were old enough to join the herd.
Steve stood there for a few moments, taking it all in. The sight of Lila standing over her calf made him reflect on the farm’s standard practices. He realized that Lila had gone to great lengths to hide her calf, perhaps to avoid the usual separation process. It was as if Lila knew what was coming and wanted to prevent it from happening. Steve thought back to how, in the past, they had always removed the calves shortly after birth and raised them separately from their mothers. Once they were weaned, the calves were integrated into a new herd, where they grew up away from the adult cows.
In a later interview, Steve shared his thoughts on the situation with reporters. “It seems Lila wasn’t very happy with how things were done. She clearly wanted to keep her calf close, and I can’t blame her. This whole experience has made me rethink the way we run the farm,” he said. After seeing Lila’s strong maternal instincts, Steve decided to change his approach. Instead of taking the calf away as he normally would, he left the calf with Lila. This incident prompted Steve to reconsider how the farm operated, especially when it came to the treatment of newborn calves and their mothers.
From that day on, Steve began to question whether separating the calves from their mothers was really necessary. He realized that sometimes, it’s worth letting nature take its course, and that perhaps the cows and their calves were better off staying together for a little longer.
