Giovanna Donnithorne-Tait, On the Cusp (ENTRIES CLOSED - December theme: Your favourite shot of '25)

A Cheetah Cub on the cusp to adulthood as of yet follows and learns from its mum how to survive in the harsh landscapes of the Southern African savannahs. He is standing by its mother's haunches, scanning its surroundings, already mirroring its elder's alertness in search of prey. This is my favourite shot of 2025 in its unusualness. For one, the Kruger National Park only is home to about 100-120 cheetahs, spread out over a landmass roughly the size of Belgium. For another, the last region of the Kruger we'd expect to see Cheetahs was the mountains surrounding Berg-en-Dal Restcamp. And yet, not only was there a Cheetah - but a mum successfully having raised a cup in this particularly unforgiving area. To see such a healthy looking, alert and stunningly beautiful cup was a real privilege and wonderful sighting for us!

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.