The Young Ones!!!- Article by Gareth Jones
The Young Ones Of Nairobi National Park
There is something, very special, about new life. In the wild, irrespective of if the particular young of the species is a herbivore or a predating carnivore, there is perhaps something “cute” when observing baby animals from a human perspective. However, very unlike the very protected lives that humans live, wild young animals need to rapidly mature from almost helpless newborn babies into young creatures that need to fend for themselves. This tough introduction into the world, is virtually an ‘adapt or die’ reality. Young creatures of virtually all species are very interesting to watch, ranging from birds, to reptiles, to mammals.
Some time ago, I noticed a 3 banded plover crouched near the edge of a pool of water, then suddenly the plover stood up and a tiny “little fluffball” of a chick emerged from beneath her feathers. The chick quickly dashed along the edge of the pool, much to the dismay of the mother, who gave a number of calls in the hope of getting the chick to return closer to safety. However, this chick seemed to be very independent as it ran around and was even catching its own variety of aqua snacks. Then the chick became even braver and wandered off away from the edge of the pool into the longer grass, as I sat there very quietly. The chick, seemingly unaware of my presence, ventured to within a mere metre of my vehicle. What if I was a predator? It would have been a very quick meal if any predator was around.
However, “mother plover” had, had enough, she ran after the chick, with a series of high-pitched alarm calls. The chick finally seemed to have regained its hearing and a bit of common sense, as it turned around and ran back to its mother, diving head first under the soft protective feathers. Then after a few short minutes, the mother stood up again and the independent little “fluffball” ran off again. I watched with amused interest as this cycle was repeated over and over again.
Then I thought just how vulnerable both of them were, the chick somehow thinking that “mother plover” was the best protection. Yet, the mother herself is so tiny, and it is only through the experience of life and instinctive behaviour that many such species survive in the wild.
Regarding reptile young, some of them are “not so cute”, as they are dangerous even when young. For example, a few years ago we witnessed a rare sighting as about 20 tiny baby black necked spitting cobras slowly emerged from various holes in an old termite mound near the Hyena dam. It was fascinating to watch them as they slithered out into the big wide world for the first time, many with the birth membrane still over their eyes. However, it should be noted that baby snakes are just as venomous as adult snakes, except that they have a smaller amount of venom.
Some time ago, late on a warm afternoon while driving near the main gate, I saw a large troop of olive baboons. They were very relaxed, so I switched off the vehicle and watched them for a while. It is well worth the time to sit and watch a baboon troop interact, as much of what they do can be almost “human-like” and very amusing! The tiny babies cling tightly to the bodies of the mothers and young baboons are always inventing some new game in a tree, or chasing each other on the ground. There was one particular tiny baby that was bolder than the others and became very excited when the older babies played. Suddenly, a slightly older youngster decided to grab a piece of a stick and challenge all the other baby baboons to play “catch me if you can”, obviously the slightly older youngster ran rings around the wobbly legged newborn babies. But what impressed me, and was also very interesting, was that the babies all tried to actually catch him with their undeveloped bodies. This particular little baby continually wanted to play with the other older babies, but as he did not as yet have the muscular development to move as smoothly and quickly as the older babies, the result was just a “jump for joy” up and down with a happy expression on its face, much like a sports fan watching his favourite team performing. Suddenly, a faster older youngster victoriously ran past him with the stick, and sat in the road biting his “victory prize stick”. I believe this type of “game activity” while occupying their day as seemingly having fun, is actually a vital part of the rapid physical development that they all need in the wild to ensure that they can respond to danger situations.
As I drove through the park late one afternoon after a good shower of rain, I noticed some movement in the small stream “lugga” in a valley. Wow!, it was a white rhino with a small calf enjoying a wonderful mud bath in the nice sloshy puddle. I turned off the main road and onto one of the tracks to hopefully get a better view. As I watched through my binoculars, the little baby almost comically copied his mother by rolling in the mud with all four legs in the air. I sat for some time watching them as they peacefully bathed in the mud. Then the mother suddenly decided that the bathing time was over, and began to move away from the sloshy mud patch.
As I sat quietly, the rhinos began to walk towards where I was parked. They approached quite quickly as their muddy, wet bodies glistened in the late afternoon sunlight. Then as if ‘mom’ said “go play now!” the little one started playing. No doubt the cool fresh air and the muddy moments appeared to stimulate the baby rhino to seemingly have endless energy. The baby began to run and run and run, all around ‘mom’ almost as if the legs had only just realized they could….RUN!! As I watched and gladly took photos of the joyful moments, I silently cheered in my mind “RUN BABY RUN!”. The enthusiasm of the tiny baby was such that even ‘mom’ seemed to forget that she was an adult for a short time, as she joined in the fun and played with her baby. As the late afternoon ended, a beautiful rainbow crossed the skyline, and I drove away as the rhinos moved into the long grass and over the horizon.
I watched Mica with her family for some time late one afternoon this week, her two young cubs were lying next to her, however, I was glad to see her two older (2 yr & 2-month-old) offspring lying nearby; Raffie and Elsie. Raffie had a very swollen mouth, possibly caused by a porcupine quill that lodged in his mouth last week, he is still very thin but is slightly better than when last I saw him. Elsie is also looking thin, as I had not seen her for a few months, however, she was limping badly! But the cubs seemed to be really enjoying the wet conditions, as they played games like “catch me if you can”, “jump the puddle”, and “catch the tail”. It was delightful to just sit and watch them as they played in and around the muddy road. They also tried to play with the older lions like Raffie and even Mica. When watching the cubs play, it is easy to reflect on the old English saying “as playful as a kitten” being applicable to lion cubs as well. The joyful mood of the cubs seemed to lift the sombre mood of the other lions, much like young human children often lift our spirits at times.
In this article, I have merely highlighted a few encounters with a few species. However, there is an incredible range and variety of many created species living in the Nairobi National Park, and therefore there is much to be observed and enjoyed by seeing and experiencing encounters with young animals.
