Camera: Nikon D5

Lens: Nikon 500mm F4

Aperture: f/10

Shutter speed: 1/1000 sec

ISO: 640

Description: Last seconds of life. A mother zebra makes one final attempt to separate her foal from its pursuant – but fails. Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya.

Story from behind the lens: “That morning, we decided to follow four cheetahs on the hunt. We followed them for hours. We passed herds of topis, gazelles, and zebras. We knew something was going to happen. When, five hours later, our Maasai guide whispered, ‘they are going for the zebras,’ I was convinced they would attack the topis or gazelles dotted across the valley. Seconds later, the cheetahs burst into a small group of zebras. One cheetah ran towards us, clinging onto a foal. In those seconds, I took this picture of the mother zebra launching a last attempt to push her foal away from the attacking cheetah. She failed. I will remember those last seconds for the rest of my life.”