Niamey, Niger, Update #6, 1-15-09
Dr. Kathy Koch on January 15th, 2009 | Filed under International Trip, Uncategorized
Thanks for coming to my blog where I’m currently writing about my experiences in Niamey, Niger, in north central Africa. It was a rich time of blessings. (I got home Wednesday night, but I’ll post several more entries over the next two weeks or so about my time there.)
Last Sunday was an amazing day. We drove about an hour out of Niamey to an area where they’re working to preserve giraffes. It’s the only herd in West Africa. A few years ago, there were 80. Now there are 202. There were 201 at the start of the day and 202 a few hours later. We were so privileged to almost see the whole birth of the giraffe!
A guide joined us and found this giraffe about to give birth. Look hard for the baby’s legs coming out the birth canal. The mother was walking around like nothing unusual was happening!
She definitely wanted more privacy to give birth because she walked pretty far away. We waited awhile and then got back in our vans to go find her. The guide climbed up a tree to find her, which he did. We drove a bit and quietly walked a bit and turned a corner and were amazed to see the baby. In these pictures, she’s about an hour old. Amazing!
We were privileged!!!!!!!
The mother knew to nurture the baby. She was so gentle. It took about 30 minutes for the baby to be strong enough to hold its head up. The baby knew to try to stand up. It kicked its legs and eventually got them under its body. It rocked back and forth, trying to stand. We were told it would take 2-3 hours and after it stood, the guide would know if it was a male or female.
I also loved watching the protective nature of the mom. It’s only because she’s used to having people around, that we were able to get this close. Yet, if we moved or even gasped in excitement at something, she lifted her head and stared right at us. She definitely established herself as a protective, in-charge mom. I know some people who could learn a lesson from her.
(The next post will most likely be pictures of me on a camel!)
January 17th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Simply amazing! Interestingly, when I showed the girls the first picture without any preface and said, “What’s happening here?” they didn’t skip a beat before saying, “A baby!” They saw the legs right away. And then that led to an interesting discussion about what it would be like if human mommies simply walked around while giving birth - yikes! :^)