A newborn elephant was photographed taking his first Bambi-like steps before face-planting on the ground.
Caroline Deschuymere, a Belgian wildlife photographer, discovered the newborn elephant while visiting Mwinilunga Safaris in Mana Pools, Zimbabwe.
Caroline was at the camp when she saw an elephant wander into the grounds and give birth.
As he struggles to balance on his legs, the newborn elephant twists his trunk and moves his tail.
The calf appears to hesitate as he takes his first stride before crashing to the ground in the footage.
The elephant attempts again and collapses over his trunk as his mother moves ahead.
The newborn elephant struggles to get up, his feet slipping on the ice like Bambi in Disney’s Bambi.
But it didn’t take long for him to figure it out and start walking alongside his mother.
‘Normally, I would hunt for African wild dogs or lions first because they are more active in the early morning,’ Caroline explained.
‘However, for some reason that morning, I saw newborn baby elephants everywhere, so I decided to stick with them.’
‘There are often elephants near camp that come to eat and drink at that time of day, and it is always a treat to just watch them,’ she says.
‘At first we couldn’t figure it out, but then we saw it: the cow had just given birth.’
‘The infant tried to stand for more than an hour, but his legs were still bowed, so he had to learn how to stretch them first.’
‘Then he had to figure out how to balance them; I couldn’t stop laughing as he struggled to stay on his feet.’ He appeared to be inebriated.
‘But he did it eventually, and his older sibling was quite encouraging.’
Amazing pictures show a 50-year-old elephant with huge tusks weighing 100 lbs.
