Written by: Andreas Knausenberger
After spending the morning watching some hyaena cubs playing with their mom in the Mara Triangle, we saw three giraffes in the distance. We decided to get closer so we could take some pictures of these amazing animals in the perfect morning light. When we approached the three giraffes we noticed something special.
We could see something dark hanging out of one giraffe and we immediately realised that she was in labour. Not to disturb the animal we waited a good distance away from the giraffes. It was really interesting to watch as the other giraffes guarded the one in labour, keeping an eye on the surrounding area. We were worried that the nearby hyaenas would arrive due to the smell, but luckily the hyaenas were busy with their own cubs and disappeared in the opposite direction.
After about 15 to 20 minutes the tired giraffe went down on her knees and even sat down. A while later she got back up and then the small giraffe came out bit by bit until it finally fell into the new world. During the two metre drop, the calf rotated and fell on its back. Only seconds later the newborn lifted its head and the mother started cleaning it carefully.
The other giraffes immediately came to welcome the calf into the world and they bent their long necks to take a closer look. Several times the calf tried to get on its feet but failed because of the slippery and wet soil. After half an hour it finally managed to get up on its long legs and the mother pushed the calf into the right position to suckle milk for the first time.
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