Some sightings will stay with me forever. And on one particular morning’s game drive earlier this month, this sighting (a mere 10 minutes) was one of those moments.
Heading out with little intention other than complete presence and awe for the beauty of this land, we started our morning’s drive passing the water holes close to camp. As we turned the corner, we spotted a mother hippo walking away from the water, and quite literally a little wobbly blob of a newborn hippo calf emerging from the water’s edge behind her.
Moment of discovery. A perfect example of being in the right place at the right time.
The calf was impossibly small! Its movements uncertain, its body still carrying the softness of new life. We all sat in silence, with no explanations needed about how lucky we were to witness it coming out of the water. As it stumbled around the water’s edge, shifting closer to its mother, we caught a glimpse of its faint, trailing umbilical cord.
This was a newborn. Perhaps not more than a few days old, if that.
Slowly, and with gentle persistence, the mother began guiding her calf away from the water’s edge. Each step seemed an effort. The little calf wobbled, its legs unsure beneath it, hesitating often as if to gather balance before trying again. There was something profoundly moving in the patience of its mother (never forceful, never hurried), allowing instinct and time to do their work.
After a few steps, nervous to leave the comfort of all that it’s known in its life thus far (the water), the calf would turn back towards the water. And mom would have to turn back too and encourage it again to follow her.
Hippos give birth in the water after a gestation of around eight months. For the first days of its life, a calf will remain almost entirely submerged, surfacing with the help of its mother to take its first breaths. It is only gradually that they begin to venture onto land, building strength and coordination in those early, unsteady steps.
I believe we got to witness this calf’s first experience walking on land. To witness that transition – the very first tentative movements from water to land- felt like being allowed into a moment not often seen.
Enjoy the images and video included below.
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on Wobbling Into The World