Baby Elephant Cries for Hours After Being Rejected by Mother

If you heard about a mother who tried to kill her baby shortly after birth, you'd assume I was talking about a human. In this case, the mother and baby are elephants.

Initially, zoo keepers thought the mother accidentally stepped on the baby elephant shortly after birth. They took the calf, treated his injuries and returned him to his mom a couple of hours later and were horrified to find the mother again trying to stomp the him.

Fortunately, the zoo staff was able to rescue the newborn. They say the baby elephant cried for his mother for about five hours even as they tried to comfort him. While they wanted to return the newborn to his mother, keepers decided it was too risky and instead opted to care for him on their own.

Officials say the baby elephant and his mother are starting to bond, but they are taking precautions to prevent further injury.