MAASAI MARA, KENYA, AFRICA: The giraffe lets out a killer kick towards the lioness but accidentally strikes her calf in the process. HEARTBREAKING images show a mother giraffe accidentally breaking her newborn calf’s neck with a misguided kick after attempting to fight off a savage attack from a hungry lioness. The brutal encounter shows a frantic mother wildly kicking out at the deadly lion but tragically, and fatally, striking her own child in the melee rather than the apex predator. Aware that the blow was lethal, and that the hours-old calf had no chance of surviving, the lion strategically retreated to a safe distance before waiting for the baby’s inevitable death to occur. As her calf lay dying, the distraught giraffe frantically tries to revive her baby before mournfully traipsing away, circling back to look at her lost child every few metres. The distressing encounter was captured on film by South African wildlife photographer, Mike Dexter (33). He’d spent hours tracking the proud mother and her newborn take its first fumbling steps across the Maasai Mara, Kenya. The acclaimed photographer, who also acts as a safari guide, was taken aback by the traumatic sighting of nature at its most unforgiving. Mediadrumimages / Mike Dexter
