Camera: Nikon D850

Lens: Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 (200mm)

Aperture: F2.8

Shutter speed: 1/800

ISO: 220

Description: Disheveled hyena walking past the locals

Story from behind the lens: On this morning, the sunrise over the Mara was magnificent and little did we know that the day would turn out to be a hyena day. I have always been fascinated by hyenas, author Lucy Cooke describes them this way "Here is an animal that looks and hunts like a dog but is in fact a souped-up member of the mongoose family and therefore more closely related to a cat". We came across two clans of hyenas that had met up with one another and after much vocalization, body posturing, and chasing among clan members, this solitary hyena started to move off with the rest of their clan. The lighting, combined with the disheveled fur, the bits of grass tangled in the fur and the background filled with non-carnivores set the stage for this image.