While driving around one early morning in the Serengeti, near Ndutu,
we came across a few adult spotted hyenas walking walking around back to their den.
All of a sudden they stopped and looked very hesitant and nervous by our presence,
and soon we found out the reason for their behaviour. A few hundred yards away
we spotted two young hyena cubs that were anxiously awaiting for their mother's return
with a possible good meal and suckle. They did not seem to be very afraid of our
presence and only once, initially at our arrival, decided to get back to their den,
but less than a minute later they came out and posed for us gratiously.
While we were there, near the den, the hiena mother did not approach the den
and stood few hundred feet away, possibly trying not to give away
the location of the den and the presence of the cubs. Soon after we realized
that she would not approach the den to feed her cubs as long as we would stay around,
we drove away in order not to interfere with their behaviour.
Soon after that from the distance, we noticed how she greated the cubs in a rather noisy welcome.
IT IS "IMPERATIVE" THAT WHILE WE ARE OUT THERE DURING A SAFARI ADVENTURE OR A PHOTO SHOOTING ,
THAT WE DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE ANIMAL'S NATURAL BEHAVIOR, SPECIALLY DURING HUNTING, FEEDING,
CARING FOR THEIR OFFSPRINGS OR INDIRECTLY REVEALING THE HIDDING PLACE TO OTHER ANIMALS.
THERE IS NO PICTURE WORTH RISKING AN ANIMAL'S WALFARE.
USE COMMON SENSE AND ALWAYS RESPECT THE ANIMAL'S PRIVACY, MAINTAINING
A SAFE AND PRUDENT DISTANCE. EACH ANIMAL HAS A DIFFERENT THRESHOLD FOR THE DISTANCE IT WOULD TOLERATE TO BE APPROACHED.