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13 of the Cutest Baby Animals to See on Safari

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The Serengeti is a safari destination that is a magnificent experience any time of the year, but it’s in February when nearly all of the animals have babies. Between the Great Migration on the Serengeti Plains and all the adorable babies, a luxury safari in Tanzania with SkySafari by Elewana is a bucket list trip that will definitely top the list of best trips you’ve ever been on. We’ve seen things on safari that put the circle of life into perspective like hyenas hunting wildebeest, lions feasting on their morning kill and an elephant that died from a wound likely inflicted by poachers. While those things are a sad reality, we’ve also seen the cutest baby animals that just absolutely melt your heart. There are 13 of the cutest baby animals to see on safari:

Three lion cubs hide in the grass and branches in the Serengeti
Lionesses will birth a litter of 1 – 4 cubs and we found this litter with four!

1. Lion cubs

Lionesses will give birth to a litter of one – four cubs and we were lucky to find this litter of four (though you can only spot three in the photo).

A herd of elephants gathers closely around a very young calf in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
An elephant herd is made up of mothers and aunts, along with the calves

2. Elephant calf

Elephants only get pregnant once about every five years and the gestation period is 22 months. Elephant calves are quite small! Our guides estimated this cutie was around eight or nine months old.

A very young giraffe calf only a few weeks old stands under the tree alone in Serengeti National Park
This young giraffe calf was only a few weeks old

3. Giraffe calf

Giraffe calves are born already around six feet tall! Though after seeing full grown giraffes, it’s pretty easy to spot a youngster even when they’re on their own. Sadly, we learned that giraffes aren’t very good parents and will leave their babies own their own while traveling several kilometers away.

A baboon infant sits in his mother's lap in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
This baboon infant was only a few weeks old

4. Baboon infant

Baboon infants hang on to their mother’s stomach for the first month and then at five or six weeks old, start riding on their mother’s back. This cute little fella (boy parts definitely indicated he was a fella) was less than a month old! We were lucky to spot him playing very close to the road, though he scampered over to hold on to mom as soon as we stopped.

Two adult wildebeest train a wildebeest calf to run in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Wildebeest train their calves to run with the herd within hours after their birth

5. Wildebeest calf

Wildebeest calves can stand within just a few minutes of being born and can run with the herd within an hour after birth. We saw a few young calves as the Great Migration moved from the Serengeti Plains south to Ngorongoro Crater, where the wildebeest will birth their calves in the short grass plains.

A Cape buffalo calf stands with a large herd of Cape buffalo in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Cape buffalo become extra protective when they have a calf in the herd

6. Cape buffalo calf

Cape buffalo calves are completely dependent on their mothers for their first year. The females will stay with and join the natural herd. We saw mostly male herds, but did spot some calves in a female herd we came across.

A baby hippo stands on a bank near its mother in a hippo pool in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Hippos are funny to watch as they grunt and wallow, but babies are adorable

7. Hippo calf

Hippo calves are born in the water and can hold their breath for nearly three times as long as an adult hippo. Hippos spend around 16 hours each day in the water, so babies are a little hard to spot. We got lucky to spot a baby out of the water at Ngorongoro Crater.

A warthog with four piglets in the grass in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
Warthogs will have litters of up to four piglets and this mom had four

8. Warthog piglet

Warthog moms only have four teats and piglets each suckle from their “own”. No sharing! When warthogs run, their tail sticks straight up and the piglets run in a line behind mom. Though I hope they weren’t running from a predator, they are too cute in running mode.

A young brown, fuzzy zebra foal stands very close to its mother in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Zebra foals are brown in color with very fuzzy hair when they are born

9. Zebra foal

Zebra foals are actually born brown and white and with a thicker coat. They look fuzzy, which makes them all the more adorable. Like wildebeest, zebras have their babies just before the long rains begin in February. We saw quite a few baby zebras at Ngorongoro Crater.

A young Thompson gazelle stands near its mother while she feeds on grass in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Thompson gazelle fawns are rare to see since the mother moves away from the herd to give birth and raise the fawn

10. Thompson gazelle fawn

Thompson gazelles are really small with an adult standing at only around 2 – 3 feet tall. Females move away from the herd to birth a single fawn and the fawn will spend most of its time resting and hiding in the grass. It’s not very common to spot a fawn, so we were particularly lucky to see this little fawn with its mom on the short grass plains at Ngorongoro Crater during the Great Migration.

Four baby hyrax snuggle around their mom in Serengeti National Park
A resident hyrax family of Serengeti Migration Camp

11. Hyrax

Hyrax live in families of up to 50 and are sort of look like a rabbit without long ears and cotton tails that can climb. The babies all snuggle up with mom when they nap and we were quite amused watching the resident hyrax families at Serengeti Migration Camp.

A crocodile hatchling sits on a river bank near an adult in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Only one or two crocodile hatchlings survive from typically around 50 eggs

12. Crocodile hatchling

Crocodiles lay around 50 eggs and bury them in the sand on the riverbank. Of the 50 eggs, only one or two hatchlings actually survive. This little guy was sunning himself right next to mom in the Serengeti.

A vervet monkey infant hugs its mother in a tree in Tarangire National Park
The Vervet monkeys are cute and mischievous little things, but their infants are even cuter

13. Monkey infant

Like baboons, monkey infants clutch their arms around mom and hitch a ride on their belly. Because the mom and dad are so protective of their youngsters, baby monkeys can be hard to spot. Like all kids, they like to play and you might spot them chasing each other around. As soon as the parents spot you watching though, they grab up their babies and hold on to them protectively.

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13 of the Cutest Baby Animals to See on Safari

About Jennifer Dombrowski

Jennifer Dombrowski is an independent travel publisher and an American expat who has lived in Bordeaux, France since 2016. She previously lived in Northern Italy in a small village near Venice for seven years where she fell in love with wine and wine tourism. She is an award-winning travel writer. She is also a travel correspondent on Traveling on the American Forces Radio Network. Luxe Adventure Traveler was named one of the top travel blogs to watch by the Huffington Post and TripAdvisor, and has been featured by top publications such as National Geographic, CNN, Buzzfeed, and Business Insider. Jennifer's photography has also been featured on publications such as USA Today and Travel + Leisure and on the Travel Channel.

Comments

  1. Derek says

    Wow, amazing photos! Sounds like you both got lucky in catching sight of some of those li’l guys and gals. Can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for your next few posts 😉

    Reply

  3. Larry says

    After getting hit with one Polar Vortex after another in the U.S, it’s nice to see signs of Spring with all the young animals being born. Nice photos.

    Reply

    • Jennifer Dombrowski says

      Even though we were just a few degrees below the Equator, it was definitely a different season there in Tanzania! Kind of disappointing to come back home to the winter rain in Italy after getting a taste of “Spring”.

      Reply

    • Jennifer Dombrowski says

      What a fantastic place to go on honeymoon Shikha! Lions don’t have a specific time of the year that they breed, so you have a pretty good chance of seeing lion cubs any time of the year. Hope you spot some on your next safari!

      Reply

  10. Lauren says

    Those are so cute! The babies look like miniature versions of the adult ones. I really like the zebra and the lion cubs, although they are all very adorable 🙂 Your photos are very impressive!

    Reply

    • Jennifer Dombrowski says

      That baby elephant had to be the happiest elephant I’ve ever seen! Elephants were definitely a favorite to watch, especially when they play in water holes. We’ll have a post coming on a herd having some serious fun in a water hole.

      Reply

  22. Beth says

    Oh how I would love to go on safari! It would be even better to get to see all these baby animals. They’re all so cute, especially the Hyrax!

    Reply

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