Female elephants and their young travel in family groups, moving from feeding areas to water sources throughout the day. In 2024, there was a long-lasting drought in South Africa and so much of the land was parched with less water and poor grazing conditions. In the late afternoon I observed two family groups arriving at this watering hole at the same time. Unexpectedly, the matriarch from each group challenged the other for who drinks first. With much trumpeting and growling, their shuffling feet created great clouds of dust. I could see a baby elephant running through the dust and had concern for its safety. When the first group left, the second drank its fill. As the family rested peacefully, out popped the baby elephant from their midst, as though he had stepped into a spotlight in the fading light. Framed.