After its mother gave birth, a newborn giraffe came down to earth with quite a bulge, as shown in these heartwarming photos.
Two friendly giraffes kept watching against hyenas as the mother waited patiently for the delivery for 30 minutes. Slowly but steadily, the calf emerges, with the mother briefly lowering to her knees before rising to her feet, forcing the baby to tumble six feet onto its back.
Birth: As two giraffes stand guard from hyenas out of shot, this giraffe starts to give birth on the savanna of the Masai Mara National Reserve, in Kenya
Down on all fours: The mother giraffe bends her thin legs until she is down on her knees as she tries to squeeze the calf out, which slowly begins to emerge
The heart-warming pictures, taken by tour guide Andreas Knausenberger, show the baby giraffe coming down to earth with quite a bump after its mother gives birth
The calf, which spent roughly 15 months in the ᴡᴏᴍʙ, lifts it’s head minutes after its ungraceful arrival into the world, while its mother looks down on her infant. Minutes later, the mother’s two friends arrive to observe the baby and see the giraffe tenderly licking its offspring clean. As the calf begins to perk up and take in the world for the first time, one of the mother’s companions bends down to assist. Taking your first steps is never easy, as the infant swiftly realizes when it stumbles and falls over multiple times. The calf eventually rises to its feet and hesitantly approᴀᴄʜᴇs its mother for a meal. Later, the newborn could be seen walking along with its mother close behind, trying to keep preening the playful calf.
Nonchalant: The mother giraffe seems somewhat unbothered considering she has just given birth in full view of a group of tourists and two of her friends
Loving: As the calf raises its head and takes in its first view of the outside world, the mother bends down to tend to her newborn, tenderly nudging its head
Friends: Another giraffe, which had been standing guard, wanders over to inspect the new calf as the mother starts licking her offspring clean
Mr Knausenberger, 32, from Germany, said of the delivery, “It was incredibly spectacular – I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
What do we have here? Two other giraffes stand behind the mother as they crane their long necks to try and get a first look at the newborn calf
Baby steps: The calf stumbles and its short legs quiver as it tries to get to its feet for the first time, failing at several attempts to do so
Andreas Knausenberger, 32, photographed the miracle of birth during a safari in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve after stumbling upon it by chance. ‘It was very wonderful – I’ve never seen anything like this before,’ he said of the moment he and his tour group witnessed the giraffe giving birth. ‘As we neared the giraffes, we observed something black hanging out of one of their backs, and we knew she was in ʟᴀʙᴏᴜʀ right away.’ We stayed a considerable distance away so as not to disturb them, and it was fascinating to see the others defend the one in ʟᴀʙᴏᴜʀ since there were some hyenas sniffing around.’
‘The baby came out little by bit after approximately 30 minutes and ultimately dropped about two metres on its back,’ said Mr Knausenberger of Extrakt Exclusiv Travel. ‘After only 15 seconds, the newborn lifted its head, and the mother began meticulously washing it.’ After another half-hour and numerous fruitless tries, the baby was able to stand up on its long legs and begin searching for milk.’
Success: After just half an hour in the outside world, the calf eventually clambers to its feet and tries to take its first steps in the Kenyan safari
And we’re off: The calf, which spent 15 months in its mother’s ᴡᴏᴍʙ, carefully plods along as its mother tries to keep up with and continue preening it
