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Exhibition Member Highlights

WhatsApp Image 2026-06-05 at 18_edited.j

The perfect mirror

About the image

I was out on drive with my partner and his family when we came across a coalition of three male cheetah moving towards us in the last light of the day. Two zebra followed a short distance behind, alarm-calling as they watched the cheetah slowly disappear. For a moment the two species were framed together, walking the same line and as I lifted my camera, something unexpected happened. In perfect unison, the cheetah and zebra flicked their tails to the same side, at exactly the same moment. It was a fleeting interaction, but one that seemed to balance the image perfectly.

SPECIES: 

Cheetah, zebra

How it was captured

Camera: Sony RX 10 mark 2 Lens: 24-600mm

WhatsApp Image 2026-05-29 at 08.48.31.jpeg

Photographer: 
Age: 
From: 

Jessica Botha

26

Limpopo

About the photographer

I'm a wildlife photographer and field guide based in the Timbavati, South Africa. Raised in Cape Town with frequent trips to our family farm in the Karoo and Kruger National Park - my fascination with photography took root early - the way the same sighting could look entirely different through five different lenses. A gap year in the bush turned into an unexpected career. I trained as a ranger and guided at Phinda Private Game Reserve from 2023 before moving to Kings Camp in the Timbavati earlier this year, where I now live and work. Guiding and photography feed the same purpose for me: helping people deepen their connection to the wild. My style - detailed, bold portraits, with a particular love for big cats and birds - is how I try to capture that connection.

PHOTOGRAPHER'S QUOTE

Being in nature keeps me curious - through photography I’ve got an opportunity to notice great detail, freeze special moments and highlight the beauty of our natural world

CONSERVATION MESSAGE

Nature is interconnected and every species plays an important role in the balance of its ecosystem. Protecting natural habitats allows these fleeting, extraordinary encounters to continue - and ensures that cheetah, zebra and countless other species are protected and can thrive in the wild.

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NPO Registration # 2024/308-441

©2023-2025 by Young Wildlife Photographers Of Southern Africa, 

Luca Tomlinson, Gabby Sykora & Nadja Giessen - Hood

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