Let’s Celebrate Motherhood

We’re celebrating motherhood on the blog today.  This post is dedicated to caring, devoted mothers and their beloved lambs, crias, kids, foals, chicks, goslings, cygnets, piglets, cubs, calves and infants.  Get ready for a photo extravaganza!
Let’s kick off the motherhood parade in the barnyard.  Domestic Sheep (Ovis aries), such as this dam and her cute lambs, are a familiar farm animal.
Alpacas (Vicugna pacos), like this dam and cria, are less common but equally charming!  You can read more about alpacas in my previous blog post An Alpaca Photo Shoot.
Next up is a Domestic Goat (Capra hircus) family including the kid, doe and buck.
Miniature Donkeys, such as the jenny and foal shown below, are a separate breed of Donkey (Equus asinus).
Chickens, such as this hen with her brood of chicks, are another common sight in the barnyard.
Moving away from the farm, let’s check out some common waterfowl mothers.  Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) are a familiar sight on ponds and lakes in North America.
The Graylag Goose (Anser anser), on the other hand, is more common in Europe.  Who doesn’t love the sight of an orderly row of goslings swimming along with Mom and Dad?
The Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), like the mother and chicks shown below, is also common in Europe.
This Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) pen and cygnet were spotted at Swan Lake Iris Gardens in Sumter, South Carolina.  See my previous blog post Stately Swans and their Surprising Stories.
The motherhood parade continues with a majestic mother and chick Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) spotted on Lake Oconee in Georgia.  See my previous blog post 15 Bird Photography Tips Starring the Osprey to learn more about this regal bird.
Next, we’ll check out mothers a little further from home.  Domestic Horses (Equus caballus), like this mare and foal, run wild on remote Sable Island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.  See my previous blog post Wild and Free on Sable Island for the full story.
And then we’re off to the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa. Some of these animals are quite familiar while others, like the Southern Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus sundevallii), are rather unusual.  Here a mother Southern Warthog escorts her piglets.
Next up, a Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) feeds her cubs outside their den.
It was thrilling to see an actual Rhinoceros—especially with a calf.  Here’s a favorite shot of a Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) calf with its mother.
Seeing this mother and calf Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana) was equally exciting.  See my previous blog post Majestic Lovable Elephants for more info.
We also spotted a mother Southern African Giraffe (Giraffa giraffa) with her calf.

The final mother and offspring in today’s blog post comes from Japan.  Here are a couple of my favorite photos of the Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) mother and infant we saw at the Jigokudani Monkey Park.  See my previous blog post Monkeying Around at the Jigokudani Monkey Park for the full story.
That wraps up our motherhood parade from the animal kingdom!  I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing these mothers with their offspring.

More Info

Previous blog posts mentioned in today’s blog post include:
. An Alpaca Photo Shoot
. Stately Swans and their Surprising Stories
. 15 Bird Photography Tips Starring the Osprey
. Wild and Free on Sable Island about the wild horses.
. Majestic Lovable Elephants
. Monkeying Around at the Jigokudani Monkey Park.

Today’s Takeaways

This week’s takeaway is a heartfelt wish for all mothers (especially the human variety) to have a Happy Mother’s Day!  May you always know how much you are needed, loved and appreciated.