About 8-9  years ago when I volunteered with Africa Impact in Africa,  I witnessed an impala antelope give birth in the grasslands of the Naboisho Conservancy.

The Naboisho Conservancy is in Kenya, in the Maasai Mara region. I’ve been to the region quite a number of times, and I have another trip planned in Kenya, in September and December, but back then, I was very much still in my early days volunteering.

I was part of a team in charge of counting “plains game,” like various antelopes, Zebras etc.. These are the animals that are not considered part of the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and African buffalo). The data we collected helped the research team assess how the wildlife was doing in that particular area. 

Because it gets very hot around midday, we had to get out into the field early in the morning when it was still relatively cool. There were two other people in my team: the driver and the project guide. We got up at 5:00 a.m., slathered ourselves in sunscreen, and were in the vehicle by 5:30 a.m., when the sun was just coming up.

The driver took us around all four corners of the conservancy, north and south, east and west. In some areas, there were lots of animals, and in other areas, there were few. We all stayed inside the vehicle, at a respectful distance from the wildlife so as not to disturb them. The guide and I counted the animals we could see the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper, and then imputed them in small hand held mechanical calculators to help us save the calculations. Perhaps a tedious task but it was worth being in the bush. 

It was the driver who noticed the impala antelope first (you quickly learn the different markings on antelopes from their markings, body size etc). She was visibly pregnant and restless, pacing back and forth. 

She seemed on high alert, and understandably so, as predators can smell when an antelope/all animal gives birth. Baboons will typically make an alarm call if there’s danger nearby and the antelope would know to flee.

We stopped the vehicle and patiently watched the impala in the near distance continue to go into labor; starting and stopping, just like a human. An hour and a half later,  a little head peaked out! And then a

a beautiful baby fell onto the ground. The mother recovered for a quick moment, and then immediately began cleaning the baby. This fragile-delicate long legged little antelope was adorable! It struggled several times to get on his/hers wonky legs and steady them, but finally, this little baby was standing next to its mother (not sure if the baby was a male or female)!

A day later, we came back to the same area and saw the baby impala and noticed it was alone, and was curled up in a little ball, relaxing and blending into the open grass (the mother was likely close by eating). What's interesting about baby impalas is that in the early days of their lives, they don’t have the ability to protect themselves, so they will position themselves to blend into the natural elements of the earth, which is how they quietly disguise themselves.

What's interesting is with the Impalas' long gestation period of about 7-8 months, the babies' muscles are well-formed in the womb so within a half an hour of their birth they are able to stand up and after an hour are able to run alongside their mother.

It's really amazing to witness life being brought into the world. I have yet to see another wildlife birth. Keeping fingers crossed this happens again!