Helen Rickards, Painted Wolves in the Savannah (ANIMAL & NATURE 2025)

During my conservation volunteering in Africa, many hours were spent monitoring the endangered African Painted Wolves. There are around 6,000 individuals left in Africa (down from an estimated 1 million). They are incredible to observe, with a strong social structure and extraordinary greeting rituals. Their hunting success rate is 80% or greater (which is a better percentage than lions). Each individual is distinguished by a unique individual pattern coat as shown in these photos.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.