Just in time for Mother’s Day, a baby donkey now has two mums following a “one in a million” birth. The donkey foal, who is named Solomon, was born at Dalscone Farm in Dumfries, Scotland and staff say the threesome is doing well.
According to the BBC, two female donkeys were both pregnant and while not due for several weeks, a staff member discovered the newborn foal one morning in the paddock. He also found a stillborn foal nearby. It became clear, and veterinarians later confirmed, that both donkeys gave birth the exact same night. Talk about rare!
It was also impossible to know for sure which donkey was Solomon’s birth mother, especially given that both jennets treated that foal as though it was their own, feeding, snuggling and showing other signs of maternal devotion.
“Because they foaled at the same time, both donkeys were looking round to see a foal that was fine and running about and that’s what they found,” farm owner Ben Best told the BBC. “They both bonded with the same foal, are feeding the same foal and care for the same foal.”
Best sought advice about what should be done about the unusual situation. Should they separate the mother donkeys and if so, which one would Solomon live with? There was also talk about finding an orphan foal for the grieving donkey, but as Best said to the BBC, “I had an epiphany. An orphan foal isn’t going to work, because none of these mums accept they have lost a foal. None of them are looking for a foal, because to them, they have it.”
The solution was easy: the three of them would live happily on the farm together and Solomon will continue to have two mums.
Watch a lovely video about them all here.
More News
