Our team of vets and zookeepers at Terra Natura Benidorm have reintroduced two baby chital (Axis axis), who had been neglected by their mothers when they were born in April. The chital cubs had to be assisted by the keepers when they detected that there was a risk to their survival, as they were observed in the meadow with obvious signs of hypothermia.
When it was found that the mothers were not attending to these two chital cubs correctly, one male and the other female, the process of rearing them by hand with a bottle and formula milk was started by the park’s keepers in order to return them to their group as soon as possible. Initially, the chital cubs were taken to the veterinary clinic at Terra Natura Benidorm, where they were fed and cared for to ensure their survival and well-being.
Now, after four months since their birth, the chital cubs are ready to return to the group of the species. The reintroduction process has begun with a first stage in which olfactory contact is encouraged between the hatchlings and the group so that they begin to identify each other and become familiar with the facility. Once this phase has been completed, physical bonding is progressively introduced for short periods, increasing as the reactions of both parties are satisfactory until full bonding is achieved.
For now, the chital cubs are kept for periods of 15 minutes together with the group of the species and the results have been good. Both the group and the chital cubs recognise and accept each other normally, so it seems that the natural integration process is going well. They are responding very well when the zookeepers call them to give them a bottle and continue supplementing their food with formula milk.
For the first few days, the chital cubs will go out on their own in the meadow with members of their own species, and when they are fully integrated, they will also go out with the rest of the species that live in the meadow.
As a curiosity in this species, the mottled brown fur that covers the chital’s body serves to hide them when they go deep into the thick vegetation. The camouflage provided by their fur resembles the shadow cast by the sun as it slips through the leaves, and allows the animal to go unnoticed.
Causes of baby neglect
In this species, neglect of a baby by the mother may be due to different causes. One of them is that the mother is a first-time mother and does not know how to act with the baby. On other occasions, the mother may be too weak and does not feel strong enough to care for it, or it may also be due because the baby has a problem or extreme weakness, which causes the mother to instinctively reject it if she considers that it has no chance of surviving in a natural way.