I Love My Mom

This image is of a 5 month old Malayan tiger cub and her mother during the first day that they had access to their habitat since the cub was born. Until then, they had stayed in a special secluded den to give mother and cub time to bond without any external stress. Though they had access to the habitat, they were extremely apprehensive to come out and leave the security of their den. After hours of waiting, the mom came out for only a moment and quickly went around investigating the habitat with her cub close behind. This special moment was captured as the mother paused a moment to smell a downed log and the cub ran up to her face and wrapped her little paws around it while looking at me with a look as if to say, "I love my mom and know she will protect me."