Motherhood is often a stressful time, as infants and younger animals are always more vulnerable to predators, or even more prone to simple, but potentially lethal, mistakes.
Petunia Stefanus, the camp manager at the Ngala Private Game Reserve, spotted a baby bush baby that must have been playing fast and loose with its own safety as it fell from the roof right in front of her.
Spotting these animals during the day is rare because of their nocturnal lifestyle, but they do like to sleep in comfort in areas like the thatched roof at the Ngala Safari Lodge reception.
Down On The Floor
Animals raining from the roof would be an alarming moment in any situation, but seeing such a small bush baby fall from that height left Petunia immediately worrying about its welfare.
She told Latest Sightings that her “first instinct was to see if the baby was okay”, and, as evidenced by her footage, the tiny bush baby was moving as normal, and appeared to be completely unharmed.
Tiny And Helpless
Because of their small size and poor eyesight at birth, bush baby babies are particularly vulnerable to predators. It takes several months for them to grow up enough to leave the protection of their mothers, during which they rely on her support to survive.
It’s unclear if this baby somehow slipped free of its mother’s grip, or if it fell from one of the many bush baby nests in the reception’s roof. If it was not even old enough to leave the nest at this point, then that, coupled with the shock of the impact, might explain why it stayed put.
Alone on the ground, the baby was extremely vulnerable, and the mother would need to act quick if she wanted to keep it safe from potential predators in the area.
The Worried Mother
The worried bush baby mother was looking down in alarm from the thatched roof. She was obviously eager to recover her infant, but descending would also put her at risk, so she had to do it carefully.
First, she made sure to get a good look at Petunia and the rest of the reception to make sure that there were no potential threats just waiting to jump out when she reached the floor.
Even once the tiny baby’s mother had satisfied herself that there were no imminent threats, she still descended slowly and carefully, making sure to the survey the area frequently.
For such small animals the world must seem to be a big and scary place, and the constant twitching of her ears made it clear that she was on the highest alert.
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The Rescue Mission
Although her descent had been slow and cautious, her rescue operation was swift and sudden. With quick and precise leaps, the mother jumped down to her infant, took it by the scruff of its neck and leapt back up into the rafters.
She flaunted her agility with these quick leaps, as she sought to get out of the danger zone with her child as quickly as possible, and then back up into the thatched roof where she could keep her baby nice and safe.
This sighting definitely had a happy ending, even if the start of it took Petunia completely by surprise. Incredible sightings are always just around the corner.