During a once-in-a-lifetime sighting, a young giraffe was welcomed into the world by its adoring mother before taking its first tottering steps.
Wildlife photographer Richard Lane, 46, waited for the mother to give birth for two hours after his guide saw she was in labor in Kenya’s Masai Mara.
The newborn calf fell six feet to the ground before mom cleaned it up and protected it until it was ready to take its first steps.
After about an hour, the newborn began to get to its feet and wander around, signaling the start of its life in the game reserve.
Richard, from Westbury, Wiltshire, captured the images in November of last year.
‘We were astounded by the beauty of the scene – most people will never witness this,’ he said.
‘Seeing such a spectacular natural event was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It was a lovely moment to see the baby emerge.
‘We’d been observing for two hours when the giraffe first indicated she was in labor.
‘I knew that once it started to drop, I’d only have seconds to catch the entire action.
‘When the child was born, its mother cleaned it and urged it to stand. The baby took just over an hour to take its first shaky steps.
‘We were all extremely tense as we saw the animal give birth.
‘We thought things would happen fast because it was our last morning and we had a flight to catch.’
The’very unusual’ sighting surprised both Richard and his safari guide as they observed the delivery.
‘To be able to observe it in its full was quite unique – even our guide, who is there every day of the year, had not witnessed this before,’ Richard explained.
‘At the time, we were having breakfast by the Mara River, and another guide told us that a giraffe looked like she was about to give birth. We dashed there to make sure we saw it.
‘I couldn’t believe how calm the whole thing was; the mother didn’t make a sound for three hours.
‘This is to keep predators away from her – it was a true example of natural grace.
‘Even now, people are amazed to view the photographs and have the opportunity to share the priceless moment.
‘A commonplace event like this is incredibly magical to witness as a human – it’s rarely witnessed in the wild.
‘We miss so much [in daily life] because we don’t look about us at the natural world, or they happen in places where we can’t see them.’
Related Posts:
Giraffe survives after lions spend five hours climbing over it in a bid to drag it to its death
A 3-Month-Old Giraffe Gets Leg Braces Made Especially For Her
