A peck on the neck: Newborn giraffe is lovingly fawned over by its proud parents as they clean it with their tongues
- Images were taken at private wildlife estate in Mpumalanga, South Africa, by project manager Victor Soares
- He arrived too late for the birth but shot the tender moment just afterwards when the calf was being cleaned
- Mr Soares originally from Johannesburg but now based in London and was having ‘boring’ day when told about impending birth
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This is the moment a new born giraffe appears to get a kiss on the head from its loving parents.
The image was taken on the plains of a private wildlife estate in Mpumalanga, South Africa, by project manager and amateur wildlife photographer Victor Soares who had been invited to the estate.
Although he arrived too late for the birth, Mr Soares shot a tender moment just after where the baby was being cleaned up by its mother and father.
This is the moment a new born giraffe appears to get a kiss on the head from its loving parents. The photo was taken on the plains of a private wildlife estate in Mpumalanga, South Africa, by project manager and wildlife photographer Victor Soares
In one of the pictures, the calf appears to be getting a gentle kiss on the forehead.
In another, the calf leans across to one of its parents as it continues to clean it.
In all of the pictures the calf is seen still sitting in the grass.
Mr Soares, 46, who is now based in London, took the pictures several years ago when he was still living in Johannesburg, where he is from.
He said he was having a ‘boring’ day at work – he was then a sales representative for an engineering firm – when a customer who lives on the wildlife estate asked him if he had ever seen a giraffe give birth.
He was then invited the estate, which is around 190 miles (300km) from Johannesburg, to witness the incredible moment.
He said: ‘I couldn’t believe what he was saying, but I knew that he was a keen follower of my photography and I also knew that he lived on a private wildlife estate in Mpumalanga – I had been there before.
‘I left work, rushed home, phoned my wife (super excited) and told her what I was up to. She got as excited as I already was and wished me luck.’
Although he arrived too late for the birth, Mr Soares shot a tender moment just after where the baby was being cleaned up by its mother and father
Mr Soares, 46, who is now based in London, took the pictures several years ago when he was still living in Johannesburg, where he is from. He said he was having a ‘boring’ day at work when a customer invited him to witness the birth
Mr Soares said that once he arrived, he was told that he had missed the moment of the birth by around 15 minutes.
However, he took his camera to the scene and was able to capture the tender images from his vehicle, although at first he could not see the calf at all because it blended in with the terrain.
‘I couldn’t see it! From my vantage point, inside the vehicle, I couldn’t get an angle on it and assumed that a brownish lump near the giraffe feet was part of the terrain,’ he said.
Mr Soares said that once he arrived, he was told that he had missed the moment of the birth by around 15 minutes. However, he took his camera to the scene and was able to capture the tender images from his vehicle, although at first he could not see the calf at all because it blended in with the terrain
‘I was expecting to see a bright, brand new, orange little guy. Within a few minutes, the youngster raised his weary head and the mother started to clean it up.
‘This lasted about 5 minutes and I managed to fire away and get some good shots.
‘The mother then moved away as some other giraffe walked in and inspected the new born and seemed to put the stamp of approval and acceptance with a range of kisses and nudges which I again managed to capture.
‘I stayed around for a few more minutes but then needed to get back to work so had to leave. In all, I spent an amazing working hour, photographing and witnessing a new life entering the world.
‘An incredible experience,’ he added.