The Cheetah Brothers

 (and others)

On my first safari a couple of years ago, I missed out on seeing several beasties I would have liked to have seen:  hippopotamuses, leopards, cheetahs and, having just learned about the very rare, critically endangered African wild dog, I was determined to see these guys this time ‘round.

It was a no show on the dogs. Ditto on the leopards. But I got several eyesful of cheetahs!

On the very first drive - the drive in from the Welgevonden gate and our first drive in the bush - we had a rare sighting of a cheetah eating her kill.

Phil liked to call the impala McDonalds, because they were the dinner of choice for the carnivores. (Phil had a fun sense of humour).

We think it was a she (well they all look pretty, so why not?)

At first glance, she was a meter or two away from the kill, watching and waiting, not to be taken unawares by other predators.

Isn't she pretty! And she's looking around
for any potential bullies come to steal her dinner

Then she got to work on the leg.  They have to eat quickly before bigger bad guys (lions, jackal packs, hyenas) come in and bully her out of the way.

You can just make out her spots over the impala's rump

An impressive introduction to our first day on the drive.

It was a different story at Marataba and the Waterberg Reserve.

Meet the Cheetah Brothers.

These guys are about 12 years old, and they’ve been hunting together since they learned how to hunt as little brother cubs. They look pretty alert here and it’s because they’re listening to the lions that had a recent kill. They don’t like lions. Lions will kill them just to lessen the competition. They don’t eat them, just kill ‘em.

Anyway, the Cheetah brothers, having hunted together for quite a while, have lately been employing a ‘third partner’:  the electrified fence that surrounds the Reserve. They chase their prey into the fence.

Gives new meaning to grilled kudu.

See how one looks out for the other

And vice versa

Good technique.

We saw these guys on a couple of the drives, but never with a kill. 

The other cheetah we encountered was a female.  An incredibly rare female: with her five cubs.

Female cheetahs hunt alone.  This one is a true working mom with a formidable need to multitask:  not only does she have to hunt to feed herself, but to feed the five kids and teach them how to hunt themselves!

The chances all five will survive isn’t great, but at least she’s giving it a go.

    I'll leave you with a couple more shots of the Cheetah Brothers. There were a lot of fun to watch. And I think they kind of liked being watched (a couple of divas!)

On the listen for lions in the neighbourhood

On the move