2024-05-06T22:27:54.848015+00:00

Giraffe Takes First Steps 5 Minutes After Birth

New life is witnessed as a mother giraffe gives birth, helps her newborn get on its feet, and tries taking its first steps. Send in your wildlife video here, and earn money: https://latestsightings.com/film-earn Johan Van Zyl from Wild Eye had front-row seats to this miracle of life. Johan shared his footage and story of this intimate sighting and moment with LatestSightings.com. “While out on the drive, we spotted a female giraffe, and we could instantly tell that something was different about her. Her body language and movement were not normal. As we approached, we discovered that she was in the process of giving birth—something that is not often seen, let alone caught on camera.” “We watched her for a while, giving her space and not adding any extra stress to her. This is important, as female giraffes are extremely vulnerable when giving birth. They are not able to defend themselves during this process. Thus, they are under a lot of stress, not for only their safety but also the safety of their newborn baby.” “The process took around 45 minutes to an hour, and we were able to witness the entire birth. First, the newborn's legs emerged from the mother, and bit by bit, the rest of the body became visible. As it came to an end, we could see the relief on the mother's face, and with a loud thump out came this tiny newborn giraffe.” Considering that giraffes give birth while standing, the calf drops to the ground from a height of about 6 feet! This may seem scary, but it helps the calf take its first breath and get its blood flowing. This is also another stressful period for the mother, as the afterbirth smell may alert any predators in the area, and the mother needs to be on full guard. “We watched as the little one struggled to take to its feet, wobbling and falling over. This was incredibly cute and heartwarming for everyone to see. New life had been witnessed, and it was amazing to see how active the little calf was from the get-go.” “The mother tried to nudge the baby and assist it in standing, and this continued for around an hour. After all of the failed attempts, the calf eventually stood on its own. Being born with long legs and a long neck is no easy task. But it managed to eventually stand, with some care from its mother.” “At this point, we waited until it took its first steps, and that’s when we decided to leave and offer the mother and baby some well-deserved space. Being considerate and ethical about these moments is crucial, as added stress on either of the two could be negative. So, we went with warm hearts and smiles all around for being able to witness this incredible moment.” To license the footage: Contact@LatestSightings.com Snapchat: LatestSightings Twitter & Instagram: @LatestKruger For live wildlife sightings in the Kruger National Park: http://www.latestsightings.com/ And like our Facebook page for great sightings and photos: https://www.facebook.com/latestsightingskruger Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/LatestSightings

2024-05-06T22:27:54.779307+00:00

Crocodiles Attack Buck That Tried Escaping From Lion

When it just isn’t your time… This Nyala was chased into a waterhole by a hunting lioness, where it was attacked by opportunistic crocodiles!! After narrowly escaping the large reptiles, the Nyala was left with no choice but to take the lion head-on. Send in your wildlife video here, and earn money: https://latestsightings.com/film-earn This sighting was captured by Michaela Crous in Manyoni Private Game Reserve. As the group arrived at a waterhole on the Mkuze Game Reserve they were greeted by action. A lioness on the hunt! She had spotted a nyala bull that had not seen her at the time and she looked hungry! As soon as she realized this was a potential meal the hunt was on! The lioness immediately went into stalk mode. Making use of the thick cover that was surrounding the waterhole, she managed to get within a good distance of the Nyala. Off she went with a burst of speed! But the Nyala was not caught by surprise, as he had seen the lioness and darted off in time. He ran for a bit, but he realized there was no way he would outrun the hungry lioness. So he went straight for the water, hoping to escape the hungry lioness. The lioness, knowing the potential risk of the big crocodiles that lurked in these waters did not dare to go in! The nyala aware of the dangers still was willing to risk it. The lioness also knew that the nyala could not stay in the water forever, so she sat and waited for the nyala to move. The lioness sat patiently staring at the nyala with hungry eyes. The nyala, on the other hand, stood in the water, staring back at the lioness, hoping that she would go away. With all his focus on the lioness, the nyala was caught off guard when he suddenly felt something at his feet. A few crocodiles had been stealthy approaching him in the shallow water and he only realized when a slash erupted, and a crocodile snapped its jaws, trying to grab hold of the nyala. Luckily for the nyala, his super-fast reflexes saved him, and he managed to kick and jump away from the crocodile. But he now had to run out of the water as quick as he could because if he didn't, the croc would get him. But the catch was that when he left the water, the lioness was there. Being stuck between a rock and a hard place the nyala had to make a decision and make it fast! That’s when it clicked for the Nyala; he knew his last hope was to not run but rather to fight. So, out, he ran from the water straight at the lioness. Charging with his horns and actually scaring and catching the lioness off guard. She was so shocked that she ran back, not knowing what to do. The Nyala then decided to take advantage of this and carried on running and charging the lioness. At this point, the lioness just gave up; she knew it was not worth it. Risking injury from those horns was just not worth it. So off she walked with defeat in her eyes. As for the Nyala, he stood tall and proud of what he had just overcome. He most certainly defied the odds! To license the footage: Contact@LatestSightings.com Snapchat: LatestSightings Twitter & Instagram: @LatestKruger For live wildlife sightings in the Kruger National Park: http://www.latestsightings.com/ And like our Facebook page for great sightings and photos: https://www.facebook.com/latestsightingskruger Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/LatestSightings

2024-05-06T22:27:54.709057+00:00

20+ Angry Mongooses Try to Rip Python Apart

A python got trapped by a gang of 20+ angry mongooses. They all go at the snake at the same time, trying to rip it apart. An interaction we have never seen before!! Send in your wildlife video here, and earn money: https://latestsightings.com/film-earn Pierre Nel, a wildlife lover, was out visiting a friend in Marloth Park when he witnessed this once-in-a-lifetime sighting. Pierre shared his footage and story with LatestSightings.com. “We had just returned from dinner back to the house; it was extremely dark due to a power outage, and the sounds of nature and the bush were so tranquil. That’s until screeching and whining broke the peaceful atmosphere. My wife at the time said it sounded like a group of angry Indian Mynahs.” "Out we went with our phone torches as lights to investigate what and where this sound was coming from. We all got a shock when we saw well over twenty very angry mongooses screaming and screeching as they were attacking a python.” The gang was relentless, and they attacked from every angle; some were biting while others were scratching and clawing at the snake. The snake, on the other hand, did not even try to attack once. The snake knew that it was outnumbered and overpowered and that there was no chance it could attack all of them. The mongooses were protecting their family, especially the little ones. They showed no mercy to the snake. Some mongooses boldly faced the snake's head and its dangerous fangs, attacking it, while others targeted its body, attacking continuously. Banded Mongoose are often the target of many predators, and due to their small size, they find strength in numbers. They will gang up and attack exactly like they did to this python. Sometimes they will not stop the attack until the threat is dead, and other times they will do it until the threat leaves. The python at this point realized that if it did not make a run for it, it was very likely that it would end up dying. So, the snake made for a small branch that had been lying on the floor. This gave it some cover and protected its head from the attacks and bites. But its body was still very exposed, and it needed to go even further into cover. The mongoose at this point just held back a moment. And that was all that was needed for the snake to make its final getaway. A thick shrub was not too far off, and the snake quickly tried to get away. The mongoose, realizing the threat, were moving off, huddled together, and watched for a moment as the snake disappeared into the thicket. And then they ran off into the darkness. Silence and peace returned to the air, and it all ended like the flip of a light switch. To license the footage: Contact@LatestSightings.com Snapchat: LatestSightings Twitter & Instagram: @LatestKruger For live wildlife sightings in the Kruger National Park: http://www.latestsightings.com/ And like our Facebook page for great sightings and photos: https://www.facebook.com/latestsightingskruger Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/LatestSightings

2024-05-06T22:27:54.634624+00:00

Lioness Teaches Tiny Cubs to Climb Tree

Despite lions not needing to know how to climb trees, this mother lioness taught her 4 very tiny cubs this skill. Send in your wildlife video here, and earn money: https://latestsightings.com/film-earn Michael Moth, a guide at MalaMala Game Reserve, was able to capture this cute sighting. Michael shared the footage and story with LatestSightings.com. After discovering that one of the resident lionesses had given birth to a cute litter of cubs, everyone was excited to see them. The guides at MalaMala had given the mother and cubs some space in their first few days, just so that the mother was not under added stress. However, on this particular day, the mother lion decided that she was now ready to show her cubs. As the group got into one of the dry riverbeds and scanned for a bit, the sound of a mother lion caught Michael's attention. They approached the calls and were greeted by the cutest little lion cubs playing with each other. At this point, their mother was already standing in a tree that was not very big. She looked down on her cubs and let out these low-toned calls. Alerting her little ones that she was up above them. The cubs, with their small legs, frantically ran around the base of this tree, looking up at mom and letting out their own very cute contact calls. It sounded as though mom was trying to communicate with her cubs and tell them to come up. The little ones, with their tiny legs and small size, thought that this was an impossible task. They found a much smaller branch of the tree that had fallen and thought that this was more their size. They climbed it with ease and looked over to Mom. But Mom did not want them to climb any small branches. She wanted to teach them the skill that not many lions have: climbing a tree. Leopards are cats that are known for climbing trees, not lions. However, lions have been observed climbing trees on occasion. Sometimes to steal a kill of a leopard that was left in a low enough branch, and other times just for a bit of fun and games. Mom kept calling her cubs, and one of them understood that mom meant bossiness. So off it went to the base of the tree its mother was in. The cub looked up, and to it, this was an enormous task, but it was determined. One paw at a time, it began climbing, digging its tiny claws into the bark to give it some traction. It inched slowly up until it was only a few inches from its mom. You could see the great sense of achievement on the cub’s face when it took the last step. Its mother stood there, proud of herself. She first licked it and gave it a nod of approval, almost as if saying "Well done." Then she patted the cub's head and gave it a final lick. After seeing this, the cub's siblings also wanted to get some of Mom's love and affection. The cub that managed to climb up now looked down and realized that it was really high up, and maybe it was best if it went back down. It began slowly making its way down, all while its siblings were trying to make their way up. However, none of its siblings were able to make it as high as it did. One of them reached halfway to Mom, while the other could barely make it past a few inches off the ground. In the end, the mom came down proud of all her cubs. Each of them put in an excellent effort in learning this new skill. Some learnt it better than others but in the end everyone of these cubs learnt a valuable lesson that may one day help them in their lives of survival. To license the footage: Contact@LatestSightings.com Snapchat: LatestSightings Twitter & Instagram: @LatestKruger For live wildlife sightings in the Kruger National Park: http://www.latestsightings.com/ And like our Facebook page for great sightings and photos: https://www.facebook.com/latestsightingskruger Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/LatestSightings

2024-05-06T22:27:54.551210+00:00

6 Tiny Lion Cubs Race to Keep Up with Mommy

Follow our Cute Tings page @CuteTings A lioness surprisingly got up during the heat of the day to stretch her legs. After making her way to the road, she let out a few calls and 6 of the cutest lion cubs came running to meet her. When she started walking off, they raced to keep up! 😍 Send in your wildlife video here, and earn money: https://latestsightings.com/film-earn Nadav Ossendryver, the CEO and founder of Latest Sightings, witnessed this incredible scene in Kruger. After a slow morning drive, Nadav decided to head back to Skukuza for lunch. He was with some family friends who had never been to the park before. At around 1 PM, Nadav started to get a hunch. "I normally head back to camp in the late morning, until about 2 PM, but on this day, something told me I needed to be out there." Nadav knows that it’s usually slow-going at this time, but he decided to follow his gut feeling and the group headed out. They made their way to the S114. "This is one of my favorite roads in the park, plus we saw a ting on the Latest Sightings App about a lioness who was seen in the area that morning with cubs." After using the app to track the lioness's last known location, it was disappointing for them to see no signs of lions, or anything else. They continued driving for about 2 km, slowly scanning each bush, and lo and behold, Nadav spotted a lion's head. "I just managed to see her head in the far distance; we all got super excited. The visibility at this point was about 2/5, but that didn’t last long... Within 5 minutes of spotting her, the lioness got up and headed right toward us!" As the lioness made her way to the road, she started calling. "I knew that she was last seen with cubs, so when I heard the calls, I had no doubt, these were contact calls." Lionesses use a low-pitched humming or moaning sound, often described as a 'contact call,' to let their little ones know it’s time to move. The anticipation was killing them; they knew what the calls were for, but they couldn’t see anything yet. Then, amazingly, six of the cutest little lion cubs came marching out of the bush one by one towards their mother, who was out on the open road. "We couldn’t believe what we were seeing! It was so exciting and unexpected; you never really see this during the heat of the day." They all started walking up and down and zigzagging across the road. "I’m not sure what they were doing, but to us, it almost seemed as if she was showing her cubs off." "The lions eventually stopped to relax right next to the road, where lots of other people got to see them too. This lasted for well over an hour, and we stayed with them until eventually they moved off, out into the bush." "This was so unexpected and there was genuinely something special about this sighting, making it one of the best that I’ve ever had." To license the footage: Contact@LatestSightings.com Snapchat: LatestSightings Twitter & Instagram: @LatestKruger For live wildlife sightings in the Kruger National Park: http://www.latestsightings.com/ And like our Facebook page for great sightings and photos: https://www.facebook.com/latestsightingskruger Subscribe to us on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/LatestSightings