... you get invited to watch a cow give birth. Last week, my veterinarian friend Edwin called with a very special invitation: "Meghan, there is a cow that is going to give birth soon, and you are invited to come watch. Charge your camera and keep your phone on, because I'm going to call you when it's happening." Watching a cow be born wasn't exactly on my bucket list, but I figured, when else in my life am I going to have a chance to see this? It could be a little gory, but would definitely be pretty cool. So I told Edwin I'd be ready.
Thus, on Wednesday night when I got word that the
vaca was going to give birth in the next half-hour, sitemate Jessica and I hustled out to the
campo to witness the big event. Unfortunately the half-hour estimate turned into two hours, then eight hours. That's when Jess and I called it a night, figuring we'd wait for another cow birthing that wasn't at 4:00 in the morning. But, fate intervened, and when I headed back out to CEFOP the next morning for my usual Thursday class, it turned out the
vaca still hadn't given birth. To boot, veterinarians Edwin and Elí had decided that the time had come to perform a c-section on the mama cow. Thus not only did I get to watch a cow be born, but I had a front-row seat to an open-air medical operation - only in Peru :) It turned out to be a fascinating morning, ending with the triumphant entrance into the world of a new calf. Here's some photos from throughout the event:
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| Shaving the incision area |
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| IV fluids - Martha the cow is not quite pleased |
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| Anesthesia shots |
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| Some intrigued local spectators |
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| The two amigos, ready in their scrubs |
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| First incision |
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| Pulling the uterus out |
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| The calf is born! |
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| An adorable baby boy |
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