Painted Wolf

This adult African wild dog was photographed at a den site in Khwai, in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, in soft morning light - the kind of light that makes the mottled, almost hand-painted coat pattern that gives wild dogs their nickname, "painted wolves". Wild dogs are highly social, intensely cooperative hunters, living in close-knit packs that raise pups communally, and there's a real intelligence and alertness in their expression that I find more captivating than almost any other African predator.

This particular pack, based at this den site, were raising a litter of 6-week-old pups at the time, and the adults took turns staying back to guard them while others went out to hunt.