Just beyond the horizons of this scene are desert and rainforest – nature’s most harsh habitats. But the tropical grasslands of this savanna are hardly any less severe. Acacia trees, their deep roots and tough bark, have long since weathered this terrain of both deliberate drought and sudden downpour. The herd of zebras, their striped camouflage, their power in numbers, are also both survivors and victims. They drink, they mate, they nurture their young. Yet they’re keenly aware of the uneasy calm that pervades their environment. The lion, singularly powerful in his own right, suddenly leaps from his vantage point of quiet observation. Hunger in his belly, he has reached a breaking point, doing only what he must do. As evident in the sky overhead, there is a “lull before the storm” in this scene, as in all nature caught in the throes of survival.