Eli5: What happens to the cord on animals where there’s no one to cut it?

Question

(In the wild not in zoos)

In: Biology

Answer 1

As others have said, the mothers often bite them off. We had a goat give birth to multiples and the cords detached from the placenta when the babies came out. They’re left with a few inches of cord that just shrivels up and falls off within the first couple of weeks.