October 2025 Wildlife Photography Contest Intermediate Category Winner

I visited the Shompole Hide in Kenya’s Rift Valley in September during the dry season. The beauty of photography from the hide is the opportunity to observe animals at eye level. The dust provides additional photo opportunities. This sunken hide next to a waterhole proved an ideal spot for photography. As the afternoon light faded, a variety of animals—giraffe, zebra, elephants, warthogs, and of course, baboons—trooped in to drink. Each animal displayed its own characteristic behavior, which I tried to capture. The baboons, as usual, appeared busier than most of the other animals. I focused on the babies in particular.

Many of us have witnessed the close bonding between mother and child among primates. What struck me was the bonding I observed within the extended baboon family, beautifully captured in this image. The baby balances itself perfectly on the backs of two elders while they drink at the waterhole. The keen eyes of the baby as it keeps lookout highlight how its alertness and powers of observation develop very early in life. The dust that characterizes the Rift Valley during the dry season, combined with the colors of the fading sun shining in from the west, lends warm tones to this image.