Here is a concise summary of the article:
**Title:** Can Wild Animals Care for Human Babies?
**Summary:**
* Some wild animals, like primates (e.g., gorillas) and pack animals (e.g., feral dogs, wolves), have shown compassion and care towards human babies in exceptional cases.
* These animals' responses are often driven by an innate biological urge to protect the young, known as "Kinder Schema" or "Child Scheme".
* This phenomenon is triggered by the perception of "cute" features, such as large eyes and round faces, which elicit a caregiving response in many species, including humans.
* While intriguing, these examples are rare and should not be taken as a viable alternative to human childcare. Most wild animals, like lions, will prioritize their natural instincts over caring for a human baby.
**Key Takeaways:**
* Some wild animals can exhibit caregiving behavior towards human babies.
* Kinder Schema is a universal biological response to "cute" young creatures.
* Human babies are not a substitute for animal sitters; traditional childcare is still best.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text, numbered and in short sentences:
**Animal Behavior around Human Infants**
1. Some animals in the wild may care for and adopt babies of other species under certain circumstances.
2. Hungry lions would naturally attack a human baby if given the chance.
3. A lion's swiping at a glass separating it from a baby is similar to its behavior with prey, like mice.
**Primate Behavior**
4. Mother gorillas are often fascinated and gentle when presented with a newborn human baby.
5. Documented cases exist of apes showing tenderness and care towards human children, including a silverback gorilla protecting a fallen child.
6. Vervet monkeys in Uganda took in a toddler, John Ssensamba (also known as John Cebunya), after his mother's death, and cared for him for over two years.
**Canine Behavior**
7. A pack of feral dogs in Ukraine adopted and raised an abandoned toddler for six years.
8. Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja, a Spanish feral child, was discovered living with a pack of wolves at the age of 19.
9. Dogs are highly social creatures with a strong pack drive, which can include human families.
10. Dogs can be fiercely protective of new babies in their pack (family) and are often gentle and calm around them.
**Feline Behavior**
11. Cats can detect pregnancy in their owners, sometimes before a pregnancy test confirms it.
12. Cats have been shown in clinical studies to detect certain health issues, including cancer, in people they are familiar with.
13. While cats are generally aloof, they can become accustomed to new babies in the household with gentle introduction.
**Cross-Species Care and "Kinderschema" (Child Scheme)**
14. Various animals, including sheep, goats, cattle, and ostriches, have been documented raising feral children.
15. "Kinderschema" or "Child Scheme" is an innate biological urge to protect the young, first theorized by Austrian biologist Conrad Lorenz.
16. This urge is triggered by "cute" baby features, such as proportionally larger eyes and mouths on a round face.
17. Brain activity studies (2008) show different parts of the brain are active when viewing infant faces, eliciting an instant, unconscious caregiving response.
18. Similar responses are elicited by cute faces of other young animals, like puppies or kittens.