I’ll admit that I was hesitant to do this post. Yes, photos of little cubs and pictures that evoke some kind of protective emotion are a great way to elicit some kind of response on a blog, but being a stereotypical male I was loath to put myself out there as being particularly oversensitive or potentially someone who makes “Goo-goo” and “Ga-ga” noises at babies.
Be that as it may, I am well aware from the multiple game drives I have conducted that the very young animals of the bush have among the greatest impact on guests at Londolozi. Be they lion cubs, elephant calves or the first impala lamb of the season, there is something incredibly appealing in sitting and simply watching a very young animal make its hesitant way in the world, particularly a world like the South African bushveld, where danger could lurk behind every tree or round every corner.
As a result, we decided to put out a compilation of what we feel are some of the cutest photos of young animals we could find. Some have appeared on the blog before, some are old, some are new.
31st December 2011. A date I’ll never forget as it was when – quite by chance – we happened upon a lioness from the Sparta pride moving her newborn litter from one den-site to another. With amazing gentleness despite the awesome crushing power in her jaws, she carried each cub across an open patch in front of us to secrete them in a thicket nearby. Still blind and no more than few days old, lion cubs like this are incredibly vulnerable at this early stage in their lives.
Two of the Tsalala pride’s latest litter watched us sleepily from the fork of a Jackalberry. We had heard the sounds of leopards fighting nearby and were parked in the Manyelethi Riverbed listening intently for further sounds of the conflict, when we happened to glance back and spot these little fur-balls in the tree.
A once-in-a-lifetime sighting. Three blind, newborn leopard cubs huddle quietly in a crevice in a boulder field alongside the Manyelethi riverbed. The Tutlwa female was the mother, and we stumbled upon the den while tracking her along the riverbank. We snapped a quick photo and left, thankful the mother had not been there, else the situation could have been a lot more dangerous.
Elephant calves are among my favourites. With underdeveloped trunk muscles, they just look sort of…well…floppy.
A Tsalala cub clambers awkwardly over a fallen knobthorn trunk
A cub from the Mhangeni pride takes time off from annoying the dark-maned Majingilane to nuzzle up to its mother.
The Nanga cubs get up to mischief in the branches of a gwarrie tree.
A baby vervet monkey clings desperately to its mother in the face of a new and daunting world.
One of the Nanga cubs, still tiny, emerges briefly from its den-site to bond with its mother, the Nanga female. Photograph by Helen Young
A photo of the same sighting. The two Nanga cubs, still displaying the blue eyes of extreme youthfulness, stare curiously back at the camera. Photograph by Helen Young
If you have a favourite, let us know…
Photographed by James Tyrrell and Helen Young
Ahhhh….memories. These are great and made my day! My favorite, as always, are the Nanga Mom and cubs. Thanks so much for posting!
THANKS JAMES, LOVELY PHOTOGRAPHS AND I AGREE NOTHING BETTER THAN THE NANGA MOM AND HER LITTLE ONES! (BIASED OFF COURSE)
REGARDS,
TED.
Hi Ted
Good to see you are still very much a part of the Londolozi memories. For us they are great memories too.
Your friends from Melbourne, Australia
Rod & Pam
Oh indeed Leopard, especially with cubs is a special one for you, but this blog is something else! Thank you for posting all these beautiful “babies”, especially the one of the Nanga mom & cub with their tongues out, baby ellie with its pink ears, oh just all of them are so special. You realise we will come to expect this now as a “Monday” post, “the youngsters of Londolozi” 🙂 Have a lovely week
Two of the Tsalala pride’s ……my favorite from this blog but all the photos are wonderful. Thanks for sharing. I have so many memories of Londolozi and wish everyday I could be there.
Awwww! Sweet . . . especially the last one!
Awwww, thanks James, they’re all so sweet. My favourites are the Sparta lioness carrying her cub and the Nanga cubs as well. They are all really special though and definitely starts the week off with a big smile! And don’t worry about being thought of as overly sensitive…everyone loves a sensitive man!
Thank you for the cute babies. It sure did put a smile on my face. But all of your pictures are awesome. Thank you for posting such great pictures!
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The first photo is such a winner!
HI ROD AND PAM,
WHAT A NICE SURPRISE TO RECEIVE YOUR MESSAGE ON THE BLOG.
I TRUST THAT YOU ARE BOTH WELL?
I AM VERY MUCH STILL A REGULAR VISITOR TO LONDOLOZI, THE BEST PLACE ON THE PLANET FOR ME!
KEEP WELL AND HOPE OUR PATHS CROSS SOMETIME AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.
KIND REGARDS,
TED.
Wonderful “awwwww” photos.. We all need those awww moments sometimes!
Well done..
I’m with you all, awwwww….. is really the only sound I can make right now! Thanks James!
Love, love, love! Although I’m partial to the eles, all babies in the bush are amazingly cute…. Including rhinos and warthogs…. And for all different reasons. So I can’t and won’t choose! James, you are a big softy. Just own it. The impact of the babies is so much more than their cuteness and initiating our protectiveness towards all things little. Babies are silly, fragile, innocent, playful, sometimes wobbly, often mischievous and their wonder at the newness of their surroundings makes us remember we felt like that once upon a time.
Love it!
Amazing photos can’t belive you got to see cubs that small.