When wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas was asked by Tanzanian park authorities to adopt an orphaned serval kitten, she jumped at the chance.

"He was found on a dirt road in an area that had just been burnt by a controlled fire, the only survivor of his litter" says Eszterhas. "I called him 'Moto' (the Kiswahili word for fire)"

"When Moto arrived he was just two weeks old, barely able to crawl and had only just opened his eyes. He was covered in fleas and was very weak and traumatised. But with the help of many friends and experts, Moto slowly grew in size, strength and confidence. It was tremendously hard work keeping him alive. He required 'round-the-clock milk feeds and even slept in my bed. In the first few days, he hissed at me constantly".

"After I sewed a pouch onto my shirt, Moto grew more comfortable with me, started to feed properly and stopped hissing! I carried him everywhere; he even traveled with me in cars and planes! After six weeks of living inside my tent, I let Moto play outside. He loved exploring, climbing and playing with his surrogate sibling, a cuddly toy duck! Whenever Moto was startled by a strange noise or birds flying overhead he would call out to me, just as wild kittens call for their real mothers".

"When I gave Moto his first dead rat, he knew exactly what to do with it and soon after, began to catch his own rats as well as insects. After two months, he was hunting most of his food for himself and would spend nights in the bush, always returning to the tent at dawn".

"One night, at the age of six months, Moto left on one of his hunting trips and didn't return. I feared he'd been killed by a leopard or hyena but a week later I saw him while out on a game drive. He is now living the life of a wild serval, but still responds to his name when he recognises his old friends!"

For more images and information, contact timaldred@naturepl.com

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