Etosha Babies
Etosha Babies
What can be more endearing than the sight of babies? Let me try: Wildlife babies! Springtime is upon us, and the Etosha National Park has experienced a prolific rainy season this year, lasting well into April and an important contributing factor in ensuring plenty of water, food and shelter for a healthy baby boom. Antelope, wildebeest and zebra are able to delay giving birth to their offspring until the conditions are just right, and right they certainly are. A plethora of wildlife babies are romping across the vast, grassy plains – antelope, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe – still on wobbly legs, but with big eyes that observe the wide, wild and wonderful world around them.
Text Anja Denker | Photographs Anja Denker
From the Spring 2021 issue
- Curious black-backed jackal, bat-eared fox and Cape fox pups emerge from the safety of their dens and burrows to scout the area around them and engage in vigorous play with their siblings.
- Spotted hyena cubs look like fat, cuddly teddy bears with black fur, making way for lighter hair as they grow older.
- A zebra foal, all legs and stripes, sticks close to its mother – the young are easy prey for any predator.
- Termite mounds and tree trunks are very popular with little lion, cheetah and even leopard cubs who like to use the high vantage point to pounce on their exasperated parents and siblings, and engage in a vigorous game of tag and chase.
- Elephant calves are a source of endless entertainment when they discover their trunks… or their spunk! Chasing after birds or objects often much larger than themselves, they are confident that Mom and the rest of the herd will come to their rescue!
- New life, new beginnings, with the hope that many of the youngsters will survive nature’s gauntlet of life and death…TNN
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