This is the incredible moment a wobbly wildebeest found its feet just minutes after being born.
Astounding footage showed the clumsy calf struggling to stand – and even tumbling headfirst into its mother as its weak front legs buckled.
But its patient mother was on hand to lovingly help the adorable newborn animal back up, after giving birth in the middle of the herd in Ngorongoro, Tanzania.
This is the incredible moment a wobbly wildebeest found its feet just minutes after being born in Ngorongoro, Tanzania
Astounding footage showed the clumsy calf struggling to stand – and even tumbling headfirst into its mother as its weak front legs buckled
The eye-opening clip started with the mother startling the herd as her waters burst.
She was then seen panting and struggling on her side as she went into labour – which normally lasts 30 minutes to one hour, and happens in the centre of the grassy plains.
Photographer Yulia Sundukova visited the Ngorongoro area of the southern Serengeti in the months of February and March for birthing season.
Witnessing the calving season, she gained a deep insight into wildebeest mothers and their behaviour.
Sundukova said: ‘After spending days with wildebeests while they giving birth and later, while they crossed through the Mara river, I can just say they have nothing even close with the reputation “stupid animals”.
But its patient mother was on hand to lovingly help the adorable newborn animal back up
The eye-opening clip starts with the mother startling the herd as her waters burst
‘Every mother was special, with different behaviour by herself and to her calf.’
The newborn calf gains co-ordination faster than any other hoofed mammal.
It is able to run with the herd within five minutes and able to outrun a lioness shorty after.
Each mother is able to recognise her calf by scent, however mix-ups and lost young occur due to the baby’s instinct to follow anything that moves, including predators.
She is then seen panting and struggling on her side as she goes into labour – which normally lasts 30 minutes to one hour, and happens in the centre of the grassy plains
The amazing footage then shows the calf fall out of its panting mother
It’s the mother wildebeest’s responsibility look after her calf for the first few days, to ensure the calf is imprinted on her and isn’t separated.
They suckle for around four months and will eat their first meal of grass in just ten days.
February marks the start of the great migration, and almost 500,000 wildebeest calves are born within a two-week period, with 80 per cent of females choosing the same time-frame.
The huge volume of calves are born in sequence as this results in a lower percentage of the wildebeest young to be caught by predators.
