A mother giraffe wills her newborn calf to stand up after 15 months of pregnancy, all the while having to defend it from lions, hyenas, jackals and vultures.
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Stef Botha and Tania Lodder-Kotzé witnessed this heart-breaking, animal sighting recently.
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Botha shared the story and photographs with LatestSightings.com.
“The previous day I saw that a mother giraffe had given birth, according to participants on the group the calf had been struggling to stand. The next day I visited Kruger for a drive and found the giraffe and the dead calf about 3km from Crocodile Bridge gate. I spent nearly five hours there filming everything that was happening.
“It was such an emotional sighting. Giraffes gestate for about 15 months and to lose a calf so shortly after giving birth must be a terrible experience. The calf must have died during the night and this mother giraffe stood there protecting it the whole night, up until the lions arrived the next morning. She kept a few jackals at bay, a hyena, and for a short while the lions. While she was chasing the hyena, the jackals would come in and feed on the little calf, it was terrible.
“She would bend down to lick the open wound trying to help the lifeless little calf. My heart broke for this giraffe who was just following her motherly instincts.
“At around, 11:00 a lioness arrived on the scene, the mother giraffe still fought her off. It was only after the male lion arrived that the mother decided to give up. Perhaps because her own life was now at risk. As she walked off the male lion grabbed the giraffe calf and headed off into the bush with it.
“A lot of people stopped for a few minutes and then left. However, it is always best to have a bit of patience in these situations, you can learn so much from watching animal behavior.”