My first glimpse of a baby animal this season was of a vervet monkey strapped to its mother’s underbelly – clinging on tightly as she walked by. This was the first sighting I had, followed by many others. I sat on the lawn outside my room and watched as they went about finding food and feeding their young ones. It was even more incredible to watch as the little ones, now released from their mother’s grip, cavorted around the green grass, chased by their playmates. The mother vigilantly kept an eye on her young one as it paraded about.
If you are visiting Londolozi at the moment, you will most likely have seen these young monkeys and may like me, have taken time to observe their comical antics. This is the season of animal births and already we have seen many young ones as they make their first steps in a new world. Simon Smit recently witnessed the scene below of an Egyptian goose and her goslings, a touching moment of motherly love and care. A few weeks ago we were fortunate to have sightings of a wild dog den and their pups that had chosen Londolozi as their birthplace –the first place for them to begin their expeditions across the vast lands of the Sabi Sands. The dogs have left us, but it was an exciting time for everyone who was lucky enough to see them.
It is a time of great enjoyment as the births of impalas, wildebeest and warthogs arrive. While we haven’t seen the first impala lamb yet, we are sure that they will be with us shortly. Driving past them yesterday I watched as the impala females grazed, their tummies a sure sign that they are heavily pregnant.
Last week Trevor Ryan McCall-Peat and his guest Irene, had the fortunate of seeing an elephant birth. This was the first time that he had witnessed this and seeing the calf come into this world was an amazing moment. The sightings don’t end there and there are plenty of young ones to be seen – rhino calves, zebras suckling from their moms and we will soon see wildebeest calves.
Below is a compilation of some of the young animals that we have seen. It gives us great pleasure to watch them as they learn the ways of living guided by their adoring mothers.
Vervet monkeys develop strong social bonds and begin interacting and playing with other monkeys by the time they are a month old. Mark Nisbet.
Egyptian geese care for their young for 60-70 days until the goslings can fend for themselves. The young birds often stay with their family for several more months until they are able to set up their own territory. Simon Smit
Two scrub hare leverets suckle in as dusk turns to night. Andrea Campbell
All the members of the pack take turns caring for their young from feeding to hunting and babysitting duty. The young ones get first option during feeding time.
At around three years, a rhino calf will set out on its own. James Tyrrell
Blue wildebeest calves can stand within six minutes of being born. James Tyrrell.
Elephants receive a lot of love and attention from the members of the herd and are intensely mothered for the first two years of their life. James Tyrrell
Hyena cubs are fed on milk rather than meat to avoid attracting attention to the den. James Tyrrell
The black and white beauties of the bush are fast on their feet and can stand within ten minutes, walk in half and hour and can run within only an hour of their birth. Talley Smith
Impala lambs are hidden for the first two days of their life before they are ready to join the herd. They are born full of hair except for sections of their lower limbs. They are at high risk of predation during their early days from animals such as hyena, jackals and pythons. Adam Bannister
Written by: Kate Collins
Lovely blog Kate. Can’t wait for the first sighting of the Impal lambs. A great time of the year.
Thank you Marinda. I am so excited, I hope I see one of the lambs. Kate Neill spotted one today while on drive, they are on their way!
Such a great photo of the rhino calf. Thanks for sharing these Kate!
Thanks Ryan! I saw some warthogs and their piglets recently and two impala lambs – so adorable. 🙂