Dinner buffet

Having seen quite a variety of game over the previous few days we were happy to sit and watch while a male cheetah dozed in the shade of a jacket plum tree. He looked a little thin and the consensus was that sooner or later he would go hunting. A mere hour and a half later he sat up abruptly and gazed over the ridge where a herd of springbok, a herd of oryx, a dazzle of zebra and a few lone kudu were slowly making their way from a small water hole onto the open plains. We followed cautiously as he dropped down into a small drainage line where the vegetation cover was thicker and approached the teeming plains. Unfortunately a far off springbok noticed his approach and the herds fled, or so we thought. It seems a small group of zebra hadn't heard the alarm and were walking straight towards the crouching cat. Thinking that zebra wree perhaps a little big for him we initially didn't think much of their brazen approach, but then a small foal was seen darting in amoungst the adults. This definately raised the stakes a little especially since half the herd had already passed the point where the cheetah lay hidden. Just as the foal was about to reach the spot where the cheetah had last been seen one of the adult must have seen him and the herd scattered. A lone female kudu which was following the zebra seemed a little uncertain of what to do and the cheetah took advantage of the indecision and bust from his cover. After a brief chase the cheetah had jumped on the kudu's back and the outcome seemed ineveitable, however a series of quick turns by the kudu managed to shake the poor cat and he ended up flying over the head of the kudu and losing his grip. Althought the cheetah walked away hungry it was a fantastic spectacle and very much appreciated by some of the guests with weaker stomachs!

Posted: South Africa Wildlife by CC Africa, Date: 19 December 2009