This photograph was taken during a drive in the Maasai Mara in November 2022. We had been watching this (what we thought was a lone) hyena for some time. We hadn't realised that its cub was nearby. It was a surprise, therefore, when the mother bent down and emerged with her adorable baby. She gently carried the cub from its hideaway to the nearby den. The picture captures the juxtaposition between the traditional image of hyenas as ruthless predators and the alternative reality that, like all other creatures of the Mara, they are also caring parents simply trying to protect and nurture their young though the ravages of daily life on the savannah.