A British family have captured stunning photographs of the moment a giraffe gave birth in the wild in Kenya.
Paul Goldstein, 11-year-old Joshua and his mother Donna, from Wimbledon, London, spotted the pregnant animal in the heart of Kenya’s Olare Motorogi Conservancy.
Tour guide, Mr Goldstein, said he saw the giraffe ‘behaving oddly’ and then noticed the calf’s legs beginning to emerge.
They turned off the engine and waited with the whole birth taking two hours. Within just 30 minutes of being born, the vulnerable calf had taken its first tentative steps.
Mr Goldstein said: ‘At this age a Bambi-like giraffe is very vulnerable, particularly to lions, hyenas and leopards. It was both humbling and invigorating as giraffe numbers have declined so any additions are welcome.
‘The tenderness shown by the mother and indeed aunts and cousins coming to poke their necks in was both touching and fascinating. The calf is currently doing well, it will take me a few more days to recover!’
A British family have captured stunning photographs of the moment a giraffe gave birth in the wild in Kenya. The Goldsteins saw a pregnant female giraffe acting strangely before noticing that the calf’s legs were beginning to emerge
Paul Goldstein, 11-year-old Joshua and his mother Donna, from Wimbledon, London, spotted the pregnant mother giraffe in the heart of Kenya’s Olare Motorogi Conservancy. They then watched and took photos as they animal gave birth (pictured)
The family turned off their vehicle’s engine and waited with the whole birth taking two hours. Within just 30 minutes of being born, the vulnerable calf had taken its first tentative steps
Tender: The mother stooped down to lick her vulnerable newborn calf moments after it was born in Kenya’s Olare Motorogi Conservancy
At this stage in their lives, young giraffe are extremely vulnerable to predators, particularly to lions, hyenas and leopards
At one stage another giraffe could be seen standing over the calf, helping to protect it from predators in the nature reserve
Mr Goldstein said the tenderness shown by the mother as well as ‘aunts and cousins’ was both ‘touching and fascinating’
The tour guide said that the spectacle was all the more heartening because giraffe numbers have recently declined in the area
Protection: Two giraffes stand over the newborn calf in Kenya’s Olare Motorogi Conservancy. The birth was witnessed by a British family
Finding your feet: The family also witnessed the new born taking its first tentative steps under the watchful eye of its mother
Up, up and away: Within half an hour of being born the ‘Bambi-like’ baby giraffe was on its feet and starting to walk around