CHEETAH!

One of the greatest thrills in game viewing is to see cheetah - the sleekest, fastest, most elegant wild cat in the world, silent and deadly, but utterly enchanting and engrossing to watch. Let me say at the outset, that this tale of a female cheetah and her two cubs stalking impala has a happy ending for the impala, she misses her kill. Thus, no need to worry about dead animals here.

We were on a game drive from Phinda Vlei Lodge, pronounced "pinda fly"==>  www.andbeyond.com/phinda-vlei-…  , one evening when we spotted a young female cheetah and her two cubs emerging from a bush lair. We knew she had been there all day, as we had seen her briefly in the very early morning when we had passed this way. Our Ranger, Dumi,  thought that she had probably had a kill the day before, and she had spent that night and this day sleeping and guarding her two cubs. Normally, she would not have needed to hunt for prey for another day, but, by chance, a small group of impala had started to graze about half a kilometer away. The very slight evening breeze was in the cheetah's favour, and the presence of lots of acacia bushes prevented her being seen by the impala. Cheetah normally do not hunt at night, and as evening was rapidly turning to night, with the Sun already set, the chances of success for the cheetah were slim. However, cheetah do not turn down the chance of a meal.


   

Cheetah are an endangered species, with only about 7000 left in the wild. They have been much persecuted in South Africa in the past, shot on sight by farmers, and hounded from hunting. Much has changed for the better in recent years with game reserves such as this allowing freedom to live naturally and the chance to reproduce. Cheetahs are very tolerant of humans, unlike the other big cats, and can be reared in sanctuaries and conservation areas. In game reserves you sometimes come across cheetahs who have learnt to "play the game" by patrolling areas where the drives go, and who have a semi-wild existence. Not this cheetah, however. This is a cheetah as wild as they come - no putting out your hand and saying "Here pussy, pussy" to this girl.

Having awoken, she emerges and starts to survey the immediate area, as seen in the two shots above. She knows the impala are nearby - she can hear them and smell them, but she can't yet see them. Her tail is swishing, a sign of tension and alertness. Suddenly, she adopts a crouching pose and starts to move forward towards the deer. They are a long way off, but with razor sharp senses, so she must proceed with caution. The tail slows it swishing. An extra problem for her is that she has her two cubs following. She turns and checks.

  

The cubs, too, are on the lookout. They learn by following and mimicking their mother's actions, but watch for her non-verbal signals closely. A look from her and they stop; a move forward and they pace at a distance; she strides, they trot; she crouches, they go to ground. They are intent now, waiting for a signal, their height is not sufficient for them to be seen by the impala, but a careless move might alert the prey. The cubs are already well nurtured, and have the beginnings of adulthood in their poise. I could capture only one cub in close-up.


               


Suddenly, the cheetah has disappeared from view - Dumi gets out his binoculars and scans the bush; our Tracker, Tulane,  normally as imperturbable as the Sphinx, knits his brow and moves his head forward in concentration. Gone to ground, the attack is imminent.The cubs have vanished - hidden somewhere. The bush falls silent, not an insect chirping, not a bird tweeting, we in the vehicle are holding our breath. The light has almost gone, and I can barely make out the impala, still grazing impassively and totally unaware of their stalker. The seconds go by, the air feels more and more charged, time slows. There is a faint deep rumble of thunder far, far away, and in a blink a black shadow shoots across the gap between bush and impala as fast as an arrow, a second blink and the impala are gone. Two seconds later, Dumi shouts, "She's missed!" His voice is harsh. Impala are the natural prey of cheetah and are very, very numerous; cheetah are scarce and need their food. "She's OK. She'll kill tomorrow", he states. He turns, excitement and disappointment showing. "The light and the bush - worked against her. She was wary of the bush. She pulled up." Cheetah have very good eyesight, but in dim light, like all of us, nothing can be seen as clearly as in full daylight. Cheetah can suffer debilitating eye damage by running into a thorn on an acacia bush; even partial blindness means death from starvation. She pulled her attack in fear of such an injury. She is young, fit and healthy - not such a big deal to miss tonight.

The cheetah is nowhere to be seen, but already Tulane, silent as ever, is moving his hand to show our Ranger Dumi where she has gone. We follow in the vehicle, swinging in a long loop so as not to disturb her. We slowly catch up, and there she is, lying exhausted on an old termite mound, her cubs with her. She is looking back, watching and wary as she is at her most vulnerable now. Cheetah expend an enormous amount of energy in an attack. They use up all their blood sugar in a few seconds of action, reaching speeds of 75 -90 kph, or higher. Even if they wanted to carry on, a mechanism in their body stops them overheating, and they cannot continue. Their "weapons" in the hunt are not just a top speed that out classes other mammals, but acceleration and manoeuvrability. The downside is the enormous energy expenditure. Hunts will rarely last more than a minute. Afterwards, cheetah must rest until their body temperature returns to normal, 10 - 30 minutes not unusual.




She lies panting, barely able to raise her head, but after a few minutes the cubs are nuzzling her, and she responds with affection, playfully patting them and rubbing their heads. By the time we withdraw, she is up, and leading her cubs back into the safety of the bush.





She will kill tomorrow.

She is CHEETAH!

David