25 Incredibly Touching Wildlife Photos of Animal Moms and their Babies.

Animal Moms and their Babies

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I will be featuring a post that some might call a little dark or negative. Even cynical. To make up for that,  I am also posting 25 of the most tender moments between animal mothers and their offspring as captured by Award-winning wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas. I figure this makes us even.

please note: some of the following photographs were cropped for this post

Animal Moms and their Babies

Bat-eared Fox and baby:
bat eared fox and baby by suzi eszterhas

Giraffe nuzzling her nursing calf:
giraffe-nuzzling-her-nursing-calf-suzi-eszterhas

Bengal Tiger and cub:
bengal-tiger-and-cub-bandhavgarh-np-suzi-eszterhas

Elephant mother protecting her calf:
african-elephant-mother-protecting-calf-suzi-eszterhas

Ring-tailed Lemur and baby:
ring-tailed-lemur-and-baby-hero IIHIH

Spotted Hyena and one month old cub:
spotted-hyena-one-month-old-cub-suzi-eszterhas

Mountain Gorilla mother holding 5 month old twins:
mountain-gorilla-mother-holding-5-month-suzi-eszterhas

13 Day old Cheetah cub resting against her mother:
cheetah-thirteen-day-old-cub-resting-against-mother-in-nest

Koala mother holding her joey:
1-koala-mother-holding-joey-australia-suzi-eszterhas

Black Bear mother grooming her 7 week old cub:
black-bear-mother-grooming-7-week-old-cub

California Sea Lion and newborn pup:
california-sea-lion-and-newborn-pup-san-suzi-eszterhas

Probiscus Monkey and her six week old baby:
proboscis-monkey-female-and-six-week-suzi-eszterhas

Bengal Tiger and cub:
begal tiger and cub hero IIHIH

Chimpanzee and her infant in Uganda:
chimpanzee-and-infant-uganda-suzi-eszterhas

African Elephant mother and calf:
1-african-elephant-mother-and-under-3-suzi-eszterhas

Spotted Hyena with her young in the grasses of Masai:
spotted-hyena-resting-in-grass-suzi-eszterhas

African Lioness with her four week old cub:
african-lion-and-cub

Sumatran Orangutan baby sleeping on her mother:
sumatran-orangutan-baby-sleeping-on-mother-north-sumatra-indonesia

Cheetah mother nuzzling her cubs:
cheetah-mother-nuzzles-cubs-suzi-eszterhas

Ring-tailed Lemur mother and her twins:
ring-tailed-lemur-and-twins-madagascar-suzi-eszterhas

Grevy Zebra and her foal:
grevys-zebra-and-young-foal-lewa-suzi-eszterhas

Otter mom and her one month old baby:
ottermom and 1 month baby by suzi eszterhas

Impala mother and fawn:
impala-fawn-grooming-mother-serengeti-national-park-tanzania

Polar Bear triplets lay atop their mother in Manitoba:
polar-bear-triplet-cubs-on-top-of-their-mother-wapusk-national-park-manitoba-canada

And below is the full version of the cropped photo shown at the top of this post:
1-koala-mother-and-joey-australia-suzi-eszterhas

These images and more are available as fine art prints, posters or cards here and here

About the photographer:

Photo of wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas Photo by Kari Raaen Odell
California-based wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas, Photo by Kari Raaen Odell

California-based wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas (above) spends several months of the year shooting a wide variety of wildlife in the field. In recent years, she has specialized in documenting family life of endangered species and has become well known for her unprecedented work with newborn animals. Although Suzi works primarily in Africa, she has undertaken commissions and led instructional photography tours and workshops all over the world. Her photographs have been published in books, magazines and newspapers all over the world, including many feature stories and front covers in TIME, GEO, Smithsonian, BBC Wildlife, Popular Photography, GoodMorningAmerica.com, Ranger Rick, National Geographic Kids and many more.

Suzi is the author of the children’s book series, Eye on the Wild, and photographer of A Future For Cheetahs with Dr. Laurie Marker. She has also won awards in many competitions, including the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, National Wildlife Photo Contest, and Environmental Photographer of the Year Competition. Having recently become a Patron of the Sumatran Orangutan Society, Suzi also helps support the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Wildlife Conservation Network, International Rhino Foundation, TigerTime (David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation), Kibale Chimpanzee Project, Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary, Center for Animal Protection and Education and other organizations.
all images ©Suzi Eszterhas and courtesy of Great Big Canvas and FineArt America

Photography books by Suzi Eszterhas

Suzi Eszterhas