A Baby Animal Safari Through Kenya & Uganda

We all have our weaknesses, and one of mine is the irresistible allure of baby animals.

There is nothing cuter than a wriggling, bright-eyed ball of fur approaching you with innocent curiosity, and nothing more heartwarming than watching the fierce devotion a mother has for her young. I’m that person who can’t resist stopping to pet your adorable new puppy, and some of my favorite travel memories include being mock-charged by baby fur seals on South Georgia Island and watching a freshly hatched baby sea turtle make its way to the ocean in the Galapagos Islands (who knew that baby reptiles can be so cute?).

A visitor looking down at six curious baby Antarctic fur seals greeting her at Grytviken on South Georgia Island.
The baby Antarctic fur seals of South Georgia Island will steal your heart with their brazen curiosity.

My love for baby animals meant that our recent scouting trip to Kenya and Uganda this past February turned into one of my favorite safaris of all time. From the tiniest baby hyenas I’ve ever seen to hand-feeding a baby giraffe and watching a mother gorilla cradle her infant just 15 feet away, February in East Africa was a baby animal bonanza.

This photo essay highlights some of the fuzzy little nuggets we encountered during our travels. It’s mostly an excuse to share an excessive number of ridiculously cute wildlife photos (and I make no apologies for that). Enjoy!

A fuzzy baby gorilla from the Posho group, Nkuringo Sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, looking at the camera while munching on some leaves.
Spending an hour watching this fuzzy little nugget feast, forage, and play with her family members was a highlight of our gorilla trek in Uganda.

Feeding Time at The Sheldrick Trust in Nairobi

Even though we have been before, we started our journey with a visit to the Sheldrick Trust in Nairobi. We always make time for Sheldrick whenever we’re in Nairobi because we love supporting the incredible work they do rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants. In addition to the playful elephants you will always see at Sheldrick, we also got to see Notty (a zebra) and Tytan (a black rhino), two recent rescues who have become besties. The stories of how these animals lost their mothers are truly heartbreaking, but it was impossible not to leave feeling hopeful after watching these little ones thriving at Sheldrick, making new friends and growing stronger every day.

Two keepers at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi Kenya feed Notty, a baby zebra, and Tytan, a baby black rhino.
Notty (the zebra) and Tytan (black rhino) arrived at the Sheldrick Trust within a week of each other after each was orphaned, and they have been besties ever since.
A keeper at the Sheldrick trust feeds baby zebra Notty a bottle of warm milk.
Being an orphan keeper at Sheldrick is a dream job for any baby animal lover! You administer bottle feedings every three hours, sleep next to the babies at night, and engage them with daytime walks and mud baths.
A close-up portrait of Notty, a baby zebra orphan rescued by Nairobi's Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, drinking a bottle of warm milk.
Notty can't gulp her warm milk down fast enough, and it was hilarious to watch her accost the keepers the second they arrived with the milk.
A portrait of an orphaned baby elephant rescued by the Sheldrick Trust drinking milk from a bottle, while holding the bottle in its trunk.
It takes baby elephants time to master their own trunk, but by the time they are two years old, they can hold their own bottle while feeding.
An orphaned baby elephant rescued by the Sheldrick Trust in Nairobi eats a branch covered in leaves during a morning feeding.
In addition to milk, the baby elephants at Sheldrick learn to eat leaves, grass, and other plants, preparing them for their eventual return to the wild.

Laikipia, The (Baby) Rhino Capital of East Africa

Our first safari destination after Nairobi was Laikipia, a stunningly beautiful expanse of rolling hills and idyllic acacia-strewn landscapes adjacent to Mount Kenya. We hadn’t been back to Laikipia since 2017, and we took the time to explore several private conservancies throughout the region. In addition to getting to spot unique wildlife (striped hyena, Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich, and more!), we were blown away by the proliferation of rhinos.

The one-month-old baby black rhino we saw at Lewa Conservancy is the tiniest, most precious little rhino we have ever seen, along with several older calves (Lewa currently has nearly 300 rhino – that’s 13% of Kenya’s rhino population!). The last time we had been to Laikipia was just after a spate of rhino poaching incidents, and it was inspiring to see the conservation successes that Lewa and other conservancies have had.

A Samburu safari guide at Lewa Wilderness sits at the steering wheel of a safari vehicle as a family of elephants with babies approaches, as seen through the windshield.
We knew we would love our time at Lewa Conservancy based upon our initial greeting, where a family of elephants came over to our vehicle and inspected us, the babies stopping to sniff us with their trunks.
A mother white rhino and her calf grazing grass next to several cattle egret in Kenya's Lewa Conservancy in Laikipia.
We saw numerous white rhino calves during our time at Lewa, a testament to its conservation successes.
A mother black rhino and her one-month-old calf trot across the plains of Lewa Conservancy in Laikipia, Kenya. Three oxpeckers perch on the adult rhino's back and a cattle egret is standing next to her.
Black rhino are notoriously skittish, but this mother and her one-month-old calf were relaxed in our presence, allowing for an incredible viewing.
A tiny baby black rhino looks at the camera, standing next to its grazing mother and a few cattle egrets in Kenya's Lewa Conservancy.
The calf was so small that it would frequently disappear behind mom or tall grasses, so we felt lucky whenever we got an open view like this.
A Kirk's dik-dik rests in dried grass, in between two cacti, in the private Sosian Conservancy in Laikipia Kenya.
We're not sure if this Kirk's dik-dik was a baby or not, but at just 16" tall when full grown, it's still small enough to fit inside the "ridiculously cute" category.
A baby zebra foal with fuzzy brown stripes peers at the camera, surrounded by dry shrubbery, on safari in the private Suyian Conservancy in Lakipia Kenya.
Zebra foals are extra fuzzy, and their brown stripes will start to turn black at about four months old.

Mara North’s Abundant Big (And Little) Cats

The Maasai Mara region is perhaps the best place in all of Africa to see the big cats, and our stay at the private Mara North Conservancy did not disappoint. This conservancy, which is owned by local Maasai people who manage their lands to permit both safari tourism and traditional grazing, is packed with wildlife, yet without the crowds of the Maasai Mara Reserve. On our very first game drive, we found a baby cheetah, a baby leopard, and the tiniest lion cub imaginable, all in a single evening. In addition to baby cats, we also saw newborn baby gazelles and buffalo, plus an abundance of additional wildlife (baboons, jackals, elephants, hippos, mongoose, topis, gazelles, warthogs, giraffe, and more).

A mother cheetah stands tall next to her one small cub lying in the grass beside her in the private Mara North Conservancy in Kenya.
Cheetahs are on the decline in the Maasai Mara and have high cub mortality rates, so it was inspiring to see this one-year-old male cub thriving.
A baby cheetah snuggled against his mother, resting in the plains of the private Mara North Conservancy of Kenya.
This little guy will stay with his mom until he's 18 months old, and he astutely watches everything she does as he learns the ropes of survival.
A leopard cub prowls through the green grasses of Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy.
This leopard cub was fortunate to be the sole survivor after hyenas killed its sibling at just one month old, a horrible (but somewhat common) incident that occurred while mom was out hunting.
A mother leopard walks next to her eight-month-old cub in the green grasses of Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy.
At about 8 months old, the cub follows mom practically everywhere, stalking small mammals, insects, and birds as it learns to hunt.
A tiny lion cub stands up with its paws on it's mother's back as she rests in the grass of Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy.
Of course, the most precious, tiniest lion cub we saw in all of our travels was spotted several hundred meters away in quickly fading light - but you get the idea of how cute it was from this shot!
A newborn cape buffalo calf looks tiny standing next to its mother, surrounded by green grass, in Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy during a February safari.
At just three weeks old, this cape buffalo calf sticks close to mom, relying on her and the herd for protection from the abundant lions that populate the greater Maasai Mara region.
Close-up image of a three-week-old baby cape buffalo calf standing in the tall grass of Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy, with its ears spread wide as it listens to the sound of a safari vehicle.
This youngster has no signs of horns developing yet, but the horns will start to grow at around 3 months old and will reach full development by 8 years.
Close-up of a newborn Thompson's gazelle calf lying in the grass to hide from predators in Kenya's Mara North Conservancy.
This helpless, newborn Thompson's gazelle has been temporarily abandoned by mom, who will return several times a day to nurse it. The baby has no scent and camouflages well, plus it is genetically programmed to stay completely motionless, which makes for excellent baby gazelle viewing!
A three week old thompson's gazelle calf standing next to its mother, with white flowers in the grass, in Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy.
An elephant family of eight, with two tiny baby elephants, scattered across the green grass of Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy in February.
We were thrilled to encounter this elephant family grazing in the open savannahs of Mara North, allowing us to spot the baby ellies from nearly a mile away. Elephant families often travel in tight formations with their young hidden in the middle, so we were delighted that this family was so relaxed.
A baby elephant with itsw ears flattened and trunk curled, standing in the grass of Mara North Conservancy next to its mother.
We enjoyed watching this baby elephant clumsily playing with its trunk, which it had clearly not mastered yet. With over 40,000 individual muscles in an elephant's trunk, it takes time.
A baby elephant showing its pink tongue as it lifts its trunk in the air to sniff a passing safari vehicle in Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy.
There's nothing more endearing than being sniffed by a baby elephant, especially when the sniff reveals the precious little pink tongue!
A baby elephant looks tiny standing next to its enormous mother with her large, curved tusks. The hills of the Oloololo Escarpment are visible behind them in Kenya's private Mara North Conservancy.
"Tiny" is not a word many would use to describe a 225-pound baby, but it's all about perspective!
Rear view of the butts of a giant female elephant standing next to her tiny calf in Kenya's Mara North Conservancy.
I don't usually take butt shots of animals, but this one was too cute to resist!
Two Maasai safari guides sit in the front of a safari vehicle, peering out at a family of elephants crossing close in front of their vehicle.
Baby elephants will travel under their mom's belly until they are about a year old, providing them with excellent protection as they roam across the savannahs.

Loirien Private Rhino Reserve

From Mara North, we headed over to the Mara Triangle to visit several camps. A highlight of our time in this region was a visit to Loirien Mara, a stunning private villa situated atop the Oloololo Escarpment, overlooking the vast expanses of the Mara below. The best part about staying at Loirien is that you have exclusive access to their private rhino sanctuary, where you can walk with a ranger and enjoy up-close encounters with their resident white rhinos.

My favorite experience from our visit was getting to meet Julian, a two-month old baby giraffe who was orphaned at just two weeks old when his mother was killed by an electric fence. Bottle-feeding Julian his afternoon ration of warm milk was exhilarating. At just two months old, Julian was already taller than me, and it was shocking how strong he was as he tugged at his milk bottle, trying to guzzle it all down at once in an adorable (but slightly scary!) frenzy.

A two-month-old baby griaffe named Julian drinks from a bottle held by a ranger at the private Lorien rhino sanctuary adjacent to Loirien Mara in the private Partakilat Conservancy, Kenya.
Two-month-old Julian the giraffe could see his warm milk bottle being held up from several hundred meters away, and he quickly came over to us for his afternoon feeding.
A visitor on safari smiles as she bottle-feeds Julian, an orphaned baby giraffe, at the Loirien Mara private rhino reserve in the private Partakilat Conservancy of the Maasai Mara.
I was shocked at how powerful Julian was as he tugged at his bottle, trying to chug every last drop as quickly as possible.
A baby giraffe peering curiously at the camera as a park ranger looks on behind him, with the giraffe already taller than the ranger at just two months old.
After his feeding, Julian continued to lurk nearby as we talked to the rangers, eternally hopeful that maybe there would be a second helping.

Naboisho Conservancy: The Lion Cub Club

We ended our stay in the greater Mara region with several days in Naboisho Conservancy, and we were so impressed with Naboisho that at some point I’ll write an entirely separate blog about it. Naboisho currently has the highest concentration of lions that we have seen anywhere in Africa after over two decades of going on safari. We lost count of the lion prides and cubs we encountered, although the largest pride included four adult males, six breeding females, and an astonishing 18 cubs, all lounging about together.

The abundance of predators is fueled by equally abundant prey, from zebras and wildebeest to gazelles and more eland than I’ve seen anywhere else in Africa. Naboisho’s density of lions also supports an impressive hyena population. During our stay, we watched a massive hyena clan devour a zebra kill they had just chased the lions off of, complete with maniacal laughing, eerie whoops, and an assortment of grunts and growls. This sundowner show was a spectacular reminder that hyenas are every bit as formidable as their feline rivals.

A baby zebra pokes its head out from behind its mother, who is grazing on the green grasses of Kenya's private Naboisho Conservancy near the Maasai Mara.
Naboisho's dense lion population is due to an abundance of plains game, and this baby zebra's cautious instincts will hopefully help its survival.
Two warthogs, one baby and one adult, looking straight at the camera in front of tall grasses in Kenya's private Naboisho Conservancy near the Maasai Mara.
Warthogs are highly intelligent creatures, and there is nothing cuter than watching a little "bacon bit" stop to check you out.
Four lion cubs walking toward the camera in the green grasses of Kenya's private Naboisho Conservancy, adjacent to the Maasai Mara.
We spent the better half of a morning watching the 18 cubs of a mega-pride roaming across the landscape.
A baby lion feasting on a zebra carcass next to its mother in Kenya's private Naboisho Conservancy, adjacent to the Maasai Mara.
Whenever I start to feel sad about a prey animal being taken down by predators, I just remind myself, "Baby lion's gotta eat!"
A lion cub walking toward the camera in Kenya's private Naboisho Conservancy, adjacent to the Maasai Mara.
Lion cubs will sleep up to 20 hours a day, so we felt fortunate to see this group on the move, in search of their midday napping grounds.
Four lion cubs piled up in the green grass of the Naboisho private Conservancy in Kenya, with two cubs watching while another yawns.
Watching lion cubs jostle and play is endlessly entertaining, as they are always up to something when they're not napping.
A lion cub rubs against its mother, with another mother and cub out of focus in the background.
Anyone with a house cat has witnessed allorubbing, a behavior where cats rub their faces on others to scent-mark, show belonging to a family group, and build social bonds.
A mother lion and three cubs walk just behind an open safari vehicle in Kenya's private Naboisho Conservancy, as a tourist takes photos from the vehicle.
We had front-row seats to a lion parade that included 18 cubs and 6 moms - not something you see every day!
A hyena cub pops its head out of a den as its sibling lies next to the den in Kenya's Naboisho Conservancy.
These spotted hyena cubs were hanging out at their den, a burrow likely dug by a warthog or aardvark that the hyenas had taken over to protect their young.
A fuzzy spotted hyena cub walks toward the camera as its mother lies behind it, looking out for predators in Kenya's private Naboisho Conservancy near the Maasai Mara.
While it resembles a puppy, hyenas are actually more closely related to cats than dogs, and their closest living relatives are mongooses and meerkats.
A mother hyena lying on the ground with her head perked up and ears alert. If you look closely you can see a tiny newborn nursing at her belly.
At first glance, I didn't notice the tiny little fuzzballs hidden underneath mom's legs.
A mother hyena lying on the ground next to her den with two infant cubs near Asilia's Nabosiho Camp in a private reserve near the Maasai Mara.
These newborn spotted hyenas look like little bears, and they won't get their spots until they are about three weeks old.

The Baby Gorillas of Bwindi: Born to Be Wild

As if our classic African safari baby boom wasn’t enough, we ended our trip with two days of gorilla trekking in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The first day, we did a standard gorilla trek, spending an hour with a wild gorilla family feasting and foraging in the forest, followed by a gorilla habituation trek the next day, where you get to visit a family that isn’t fully habituated yet and spend up to four hours with them. Both treks were exceptional, from the giant silverback and multiple babies on our first day, to the in-depth adventure we had during our habituation trek (including one very endearing little fuzzball who completely stole our hearts with her acrobatic antics).

 

A small, fuzzy baby gorilla sitting next to a silverback and female adult, surrounded by lush foliage in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. These gorillas are the Posho Group in the Nkuringo Sector.
Our first gorilla trek led us to a family that had at least four fuzzy little babies - it was hard to keep track of such a big family spread out in the dense forest around us.
A tiny gorilla balances on a branch amidst the dense foliage of Ugnada's Bwindi Impenetrable Forest during a gorilla habituation trek with the Bikinge Group in the Rushaga Sector.
This little female gorilla we saw on our habituation trek was already showing comfort around humans, and she kept us readily entertained with her acrobatic antics.
A mother gorilla from the Posho Group in Nkuringo Sector, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, holds her baby, who appears to be calling with an open mouth.
Newborn gorillas cannot walk until they are 10 months old, so they keep a tight grip on mom, clinging to her chest or back as she navigates the dense jungles of Uganda.

If there’s a lesson from our February journey through Kenya and Uganda, it’s this: East Africa isn’t just about the Big Five, it’s also about new life. From wobbly rhino calves and playful lion cubs to curious baby gorillas and innocent newborn gazelles, February offered one unforgettable reminder after another that the next generation of Africa’s wildlife is thriving. For anyone who melts at the sight of baby animals as much as I do, this may just be the perfect time of year for an East Africa safari.

When you are ready to experience East Africa’s February baby boom on your own dream African safari, reach out! We can help you plan a fully custom adventure tailored to your every need.

Your baby-animal-crazy lady,

Alexis Alloway

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