There is a back story to why we are so happy to welcome Astrids new calf. Astrid has had very bad luck in raising calves. She was born to Alison in 1979 and gave birth to her first calf in 1990. Martyn Colbeck and I were there to film the birth and tragically it was a stillborn. Astrid had her second calf three years later in 1993, and this calf, a female lived, but eventually died during the 2009 drought. The third calf, Annan, a female, was born in 1997 and she is alive today and the mother of a calf herself. Then came a series of losses for Astrid. Her 2003 calf died when he was only a few days old; her 2005 calf lived but then died in the 2009 drought; and her 2009 calf died at eight months old in the drought. Then in 2012 we watched as Astrid got bigger and bigger and looked more and more uncomfortable. We were sure she was going to give birth any day, and then she appeared back to normal but no calf. We think she had another stillborn or a miscarriage. Another two years has gone by and finally Astrid has a healthy new calf. Were cheering for both of them.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 07:03:57 +0000
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