23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
Strolling by a sleeping lion in the Serengeti grasslands

A helmeted guinea fowl puts on an unexpected display of confidence, strutting past a sleeping lion with all the nonchalance of someone late for an appointment, in Tanzania's Central Serengeti. The fowl's speckled plumage shimmered in the afternoon light, as it took each step, measured and purposeful.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2025
Date Uploaded: 11.2025
Photo Location: Central Serengeti, Tanzania
Camera: NIKON Z 9
Copyright: © Parameswaran Ponnudurai