Holding On

A vervet monkey stands on the rocky rim of a waterhole at the Chem Chem concession in northern Tanzania, her newborn infant pressed tight against her chest. The underground photography hide at Little Chem Chem drops you level with the water's surface, where animals come down without knowing you are there, and the late afternoon light was warm and raking across the rock. A troop had moved from the tree line to drink, the adults scanning the ground before letting the younger ones approach. This mother took her moment without setting the infant down, bending to reach the surface while the baby held on. At 600mm through the hide window I could track her face, and she looked up once before turning back to the water.