Think of the warm comfort of a family gathering — the familiar voices, the laughter at inside jokes, the feeling of belonging. For most of us, family is our greatest source of love and support. In fact, surveys find that in virtually every country on Earth, over 80% of people say their family is “very important” in their lives, as detailed by global family importance data. We may disagree on many things, but the value of family is nearly universal.
Humans aren’t alone in cherishing family. Across the animal kingdom, creatures form close bonds and experience joy and heartbreak in ways we might find surprisingly familiar. Yet the lives of these animal families are often hidden from view. When we peek behind the scenes — on farms, in research labs, in entertainment venues, or in the wild — we discover powerful stories of love, loss, and resilience. If you like family, it’s worth reflecting on how deeply other animals love theirs, and what that means for the choices we make.
Cows and Calves: A Bond Broken
At sunrise on a quiet farm, a mother cow gently licks her newborn calf, nudging him to his feet. She even murmurs a low, unique moo – an encouragement for her baby to start nursing, a bond documented by animal welfare advocates. In a natural setting, this tender ritual would mark the start of a strong maternal bond. But on most modern dairy farms, that bond is cut short within a day. Calves are routinely taken away from their mothers just hours after birth so that the mother’s milk can be collected for dairy products, as described by animal rights organizations.
What follows is a hidden heartbreak. Separated from her calf, the mother cow will often pace and call out in distress, searching for her missing baby, according to reports on dairy industry practices. Farmers have reported mother cows bellowing for days, even weeks, after separation. The calves, for their part, sometimes try to suckle on the fingers of farm workers – a futile attempt to find the comfort of their mother’s udder, as seen in behavioral observations. Anyone who has seen a lost child cry for their mom can recognize the anguish here. A mother’s love is a mother’s love, whether the parent has hands or hooves. The dairy industry rarely shows us this emotional side of milk production, but it exists behind each glass of milk or scoop of ice cream. Recognizing that cows deeply feel these family ties reminds us that compassion isn’t limited to humans alone.
Hens and Chicks: A Lost Connection
We often use the term “mother hen” to describe someone fiercely protective of their children – and with good reason. In a free-roaming farmyard, a mother hen will cluck softly to her brood, gathering her chicks under her wings at night to keep them warm and safe, a behavior described in studies of hen and chick relationships. She watches vigilantly for hawks and other dangers, ready to defend her little ones. Scientists have even observed that mother hens show signs of stress when their chicks are distressed – essentially, they empathize with their chicks, as explained in research on avian empathy. Chicks, in turn, instinctively flock to their mother, scampering after her and sometimes climbing onto her back or snuggling beneath her feathers when they need comfort, a dynamic observed in accounts of maternal care. It’s a charming family portrait: the attentive mother and her playful, trusting young.
But on industrial egg farms, this family portrait is never painted. Egg-laying hens in commercial facilities never get to see their chicks hatch. In these operations, eggs are taken away to giant incubators, and the cycle of life is mechanized. The mother hens are simply not allowed to raise their young at all, as detailed by animal welfare groups. Generations of chickens live and die without ever experiencing a mother’s care.
The natural behaviors we associate with “mother hens” – warming, guiding, and protecting their chicks – are completely thwarted by the way we produce eggs. Imagine if every human baby were taken away at birth and raised without any parents; for chickens, that is essentially what happens on factory farms. Recognizing this can change how we see even the humblest animals. A hen’s drive to nurture her offspring may be different in degree, but not in kind, from that of any other parent. When we acknowledge that, calling someone a “mother hen” takes on a new depth of meaning – it’s a reminder that the bond between parent and child matters to birds as much as it does to us.
Elephants: Family Ties that Endure
In the wild savannah, an elephant herd moves as a family – literally. These majestic animals live in tight-knit groups led by a wise matriarch, often a grandmother, and composed of mothers, daughters, aunts, and calves. A baby elephant will stay by its mother’s side for many years, learning how to find food and water, how to socialize, and whom to trust. In fact, elephant calves typically remain with their mothers until they are around 10 to 11 years old, and “elephant years are pretty close to human years” in terms of growth and maturity, according to National Geographic’s reporting on elephant family life. Like human children, young elephants have long childhoods filled with play, learning, and the security of a mother’s care.
Family ties in elephant society are not only long-lasting but deeply emotional. Researchers at an elephant sanctuary in Thailand observed that when one elephant is distressed – say, startled by a loud noise – others will rush to touch and comfort her, chirping softly as if to say “we’re here for you,” as described in firsthand behavioral observations. Elephants have been seen mourning their dead and remembering absent family members even after long separations. One famous example of an elephant’s memory is the story of Me-Bai, a young elephant in Thailand. Me-Bai was only three years old when she was taken from her mother to be used in a tourist trekking camp, as detailed by Good News Network. For years, mother and daughter were apart. Finally, Me-Bai was rescued and brought to a sanctuary – and there, after nearly four years, she was reunited with her mother. They recognized each other immediately and became inseparable, lovingly nuzzling one another with their trunks, as recounted in the story of Me-Bai’s reunion. As one elephant behavior expert noted, this heartwarming reunion “illustrates beautifully the incredible memories and love elephants have for one another,” as emphasized by National Geographic’s feature on elephant emotions. It also shows that the old saying is true: an elephant never forgets – especially when it comes to family.
Sadly, not all such stories have happy endings. In circuses and tourist attractions, elephant calves are often taken from their families, causing profound stress and trauma. Advocates like Joyce Poole argue that we must protect elephants from being separated from their loved ones, just as we would want to protect our own families, as discussed in expert commentary on elephant advocacy. The thought of a baby elephant crying out for its mother is heartbreaking precisely because it resonates with our own understanding of family. When we look at elephants, we are seeing a reflection of our own familial love in a different form.
Extending the Family Circle
Whether it’s a cow and her calf, a hen and her chicks, or a herd of elephants in the wild, the love that animals show for their families is both real and profound. These stories invite us to widen our circle of compassion. Every glass of milk, every omelet, every elephant ride at a tourist park – they all connect to mothers, fathers, and babies whose bonds deserve respect.
The good news is that honoring those bonds can be a joyful choice, not a burden. Many of us already consider our pets part of the family; we can extend that kindness to farm animals and wildlife, too. Small changes in daily life can make a meaningful difference. It could be choosing oat milk for your cereal so that a calf can stay with her mom, or opting for a veggie-based meal one day a week to spare a mother pig and her piglets. It might mean supporting sanctuaries that reunite and care for animal families, or simply sharing what you’ve learned with friends and relatives. Every gentle step counts.
In the end, valuing family means valuing the connections that matter – no matter the species. By embracing compassionate choices, we affirm that love and empathy are not limited by biology. If you like family, you already hold the key to understanding why a cow grieves for her calf, or why an elephant will risk everything to protect her herd. And with that understanding, we can help build a world where every mother, every child, every family – human or animal – can thrive in the warmth of that bond.
You can read more about these themes and supporting research in this global overview of family values, insights into cow-calf bonding, industry impacts on dairy families, cow distress after separation, calf behavioral responses, hen-chick natural behaviors, maternal empathy in hens, the loss of mothering in industrial egg farming, long-lasting elephant family bonds, elephant empathy and comfort, the story of Me-Bai’s separation, the moving reunion, the depth of elephant memory and love, and expert calls for elephant family protection.
