A Hyena Takes an Adorable Early Morning Swim

By African Wildlife Foundation

Published on 7/11/2014 at 4:54 PM

Shortly after sunrise, at Kieliekrankie Wilderness Camp in South Africa's Kruger National Park, I settled into my balcony chair with my rusk and a coffee and noticed a lone hyena on the horizon.

He wandered down the hillside to the watering hole and stopped momentarily to drink.

He looked around-as if to check that no one was watching-and proceeded to walk straight into the watering hole. Like a bird fluttering in a birdbath, he wiggled back and forth, giddy with excitement.

I couldn't help but smile as he ran out of the hole and galloped around before vanishing back over the horizon.

**I don't know if it's a he or she-hyenas are really hard to tell (but that's another story!)

Learn more about hyenas!