I wiped my face on my sleeve, the dust and dirt felt like a fine grit sandpaper against my skin, the desert’s exfoliant. I’d been in this arid landscape for days now, searching. The only water around was what I carried with me, and I was running out. Luckily, my search was at an end, I’d found what I was looking for.

In front of me, a pair of large ears, a narrow snout and fur covered paws on a cat-sized fox. A Desert Kit Fox, the true master of this inhospitable terrain.

Wiping more sweat and dust from my face I grinned, the Fox seemed to be wearing a smile of her own. I pressed my eye to the camera’s viewfinder and held my finger to the camera’s shutter. A thought crossed my mind, “I’ll need to ration the rest of my water, I’m going to be here a while!”