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AFTER hiding her newborn calf for about a week, one of the mother buffalos at the Kragga Kamma Game Reserve in Port Elizabeth finally decided to bring it out into the open yesterday, although she was not willing to let anyone come close just yet.

The eighth addition to the close-knit buffalo clan is believed to have been born last Tuesday. Game rangers spotted it with its mother briefly before it disappeared back into the bushes for a week and was spotted again yesterday afternoon.

Although the young animal was finally allowed into the open it never left its mother‘s side, trailing closely on her tail and trying to imitate her grazing habits.

Michael Cantor, part owner of the reserve, said it was not unusual for a mother buffalo to be protective of its young, but she would rarely actually go to the extremes of hiding her calf in the bushes away from the rest of the animals.

“We saw the calf with its mother last Tuesday and didn‘t see it again for a few days until we found it this morning (Tuesday) with the rest of the herd.

“We do find on occasion that the mothers are very protective and become aggressive if we try to go anywhere near their young, although we like to assist it if we can,” Cantor said.

He said the young calf‘s wobbly little legs were still battling to keep it walking straight and it appeared still to be very clumsy.

To view video footage of the week-old calf, visit www.theherald.co.za