A British family have captured stunning photographs of the moment a giraffe gave birth in the wild in Kenya. The Goldsteins saw a pregnant female giraffe acting strangely before noticing that the calf's legs were beginning to emerge

Paul Goldstein, 11-year-old Joshua and his mother Donna, from Wimbledon, London, spotted the pregnant mother giraffe in the heart of Kenya's Olare Motorogi Conservancy. They then watched and took photos as they animal gave birth (pictured)

The family turned off their vehicle's engine and waited with the whole birth taking two hours. Within just 30 minutes of being born, the vulnerable calf had taken its first tentative steps

Tender: The mother stooped down to lick her vulnerable newborn calf moments after it was born in Kenya's Olare Motorogi Conservancy

At this stage in their lives, young giraffe are extremely vulnerable to predators, particularly to lions, hyenas and leopards

At one stage another giraffe could be seen standing over the calf, helping to protect it from predators in the nature reserve

Mr Goldstein said the tenderness shown by the mother as well as 'aunts and cousins' was both 'touching and fascinating'

The tour guide said that the spectacle was all the more heartening because giraffe numbers have recently declined in the area

Protection: Two giraffes stand over the newborn calf in Kenya's Olare Motorogi Conservancy. The birth was witnessed by a British family

Finding your feet: The family also witnessed the new born taking its first tentative steps under the watchful eye of its mother

Up, up and away: Within half an hour of being born the 'Bambi-like' baby giraffe was on its feet and starting to walk around