Heartstring Moments - Springtime in the Kalahari 2018

[ExFmem]

As said before, and the title of this TT, we experienced the entire spectrum of emotion on this trip, from joyous delight to wiping away tears from our cheeks. Here is one of the heartwarming sightings that we were able to witness on several different occasions -







First Breath











First Kiss










First Drink






First Faceplant















Day by day the number of springbok lambs increased exponentially.










Time to meet the neighborhood kids










WEE !!! Ain't LIFE grand ?!!














Watching these newborns go from completely helpless, to stumbling, to walking, to suckling, to running and jumping with wild abandon is just so special and lifted our spirits to new heights each time we were lucky enough to see the unfolding of the first moments of Life.

[Peter Betts]

Magic Sequence..somethinhg I have never seen

[harrys]

Wow another wonderful post with awesome animals

[Flutterby]

Simply stunning!!

[Richprins]

Lots of babymaking going on!

Mrs Robinson?

Interesting the snakes also struggling with the dirt roads, Ex!

Brilliant, brilliant shots!

[Lisbeth]

The springbok sequence is just wonderful

I have never seen a birth from the beginning, but from the moment that the baby had just touched the ground. It is amazing to see how both know exactly what to do

What snakes are concerned you had also seen a Cape Cobra if I don't error

The Aoub side is by far the better one

It took me a moment to interpret the "feet up" pic

You made my day begin in a good spirit

[Pumbaa]

As if the lions and cheetahs from the previous instalment were not enough, ExFmem,

that spring bock sequence is simply fantastic - What gorgeous cuties they are

[Mel]

Those springbok lambs were something else! And each day there were tons of new arrivals - at least in the mid/upper Aoub.
Totally awesome. And they are way cute with their huuuge ears and their curious eyes

How long did it actually take for the mum to drop her baby? As reported in my tale, I wasn't able to stay and keep watching.
It seem to take forever and a day and the mother looked as if being in so much pain, that I ordered the SO to leave before
I was a total watery mess

[ExFmem]

Peter, harrys, Flutts, RP, Sis, Mel, and Pumbaa - You're the best! Thanks for sharing my lil bundle of joy with me.

Sis - as far as snakes, your memory serves you correctly, we did see Cobras (more coming up), also some "interesting", at least to me, Mole snake behavior, and one additional type snake….stay tuned

Yep, not sure if most would see the "feet up" as it's not a close-up pic.

[ExFmem]

Mel: "How long did it actually take for the mum to drop her baby? As reported in my tale, I wasn't able to stay and keep watching.
It seem to take forever and a day and the mother looked as if being in so much pain, that I ordered the SO to leave before
I was a total watery mess"

The times for that particular birth - from the very first pic to the "1st Breath" pic was 3 minutes. However, you can see she was 99% along the way - no idea how long she had been having contractions/pushing prior to that.

From the very first pic to the walking relatively well pic was 36 minutes, and suckling was 38 minutes after birth.

And just think, it takes humans 1 YEAR to walk!

As far as watching the process becoming painful at times, we also came across this mom whose baby was "feet first" and seemed to be stressed.








Who knows (veterinarians), perhaps it's all part of the NORMAL process that, like humans, varies greatly from birth to birth and turned out just fine, but I had your exact same reaction of not wanting to witness a seemingly difficult birth.