A Little Less Endangered...

In the simplest terms, the science of population ecology concerns itself with how and why a group of animals (or plants, bacteria, etc) changes in number over time. These changes occur -in their most distilled forms- through four relatively simple processes: births, deaths, immigration and emigration. For large-bodied and long-lived animals like giraffe, these processes are very often difficult to directly monitor and are generally inferred. The gestation period of a giraffe is over 14 months and the odds of being present at the precise moment of birth are exceedingly small. Every so often, however, researchers get lucky and witness these miraculous occasions. Such was the case on our latest demographic survey  of the endangered Rothschild's giraffe in Murchison Falls National Park. During these surveys, we drive the entire extent of the park and photograph every giraffe that we encounter so that we can identify them by their unique spot patterns in attempt to understand and conserve this population. On this particular day, we were deep in the central region of Murchison Falls National Park, photographing a group of giraffe that frequents the open glades and surrounding dense woodland, when we noticed the large female struggling to give birth to its 150 pound calf. The process from the initial five-foot drop into the world, to the young giraffe's first steps occurred over the span of under an hour. It's an incredible progression from birth to mobility meant to give the calf the greatest chance of surviving this vulnerable stage. This young giraffe has a challenging time ahead of it - mortality is typically highest for giraffes in their first year- but if he survives, we will be able to monitor him as he potentially grows another fourteen feet in height.

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09:30 am

As we approached this female, it was instantly apparent that we were witnessing something special. Our timing was miraculously perfect, as the head and front legs of the calf were clearly visible. At first the mother appeared relaxed, but as the slowly emerged, the mother appeared a bit more agitated and walked with legs straddled, as more and more of the calf slowly became visible.

09:35 am

The wild Rothschild's giraffe is welcomed to the world with a six foot drop to the sandy soil. Initially it lays as a motionless shiny pile in the short grass. The mother stands attentively over the , cautiously eyeing our Landcruiser and scanning the bush for potential predators of this helpless newborn.

09:52 am

As the calf lifts its head and blinkingly takes in its new world, the mother begins to take interest. She carefully licks the young calf and watches over it as it waves its head back and forth and exercises its young muscles in its first attempts to live in defiance of gravity

10:15 am

Less than an hour after being born, the calf- after nearly a dozen failed attempts - manages to get to its feet and take its first wobbly steps. Within minutes, the calf was weaving in and out of the sanctuary of its mother's tall legs. Although statistically, this young giraffe has a long and challenging to reach its mother's age, its life is off to a beautiful and auspicious beginning.