Safari Part 5b

September 2, 2009 (Serengeti Day 2)

Continued...

Mike continues on into savannah country, still determined to find cheetah today. As we’re driving along, he suddenly hits the brakes. Sitting in the shade of a low-lying acacia are four cheetahs. Ask and ye shall be given.

We stay and watch them for a while, but they seem to be content to just sit in the cool shade to wait out the heat of the day. So we press on.

We see two more leopards. Both in trees, of course, and both hidden. We have lunch by one of those trees hoping one will decided to move if we wait, but our hope is in vain. So we head back to check on our cheetahs.

They are all still sitting in the shade, and appear to not be interested in moving. Mike, however, stops and just says ‘Wait.’

So we do. We’ve sat for about 15 minutes before we ask Mike if we ought to just move on. ‘No, wait, they will move soon, you will see.’ And they do. I swear this man has animal ESP, or they’re all trained circus animals. One of the two.

The four cheetahs all stand up together and start to move. We realize they’ve locked onto a female impala with a young fawn about 40 yards away. The four move like synchronized swimmers. They move out, pacing in unison, and when the female impala turns her head their way, they all, in perfect sync, drop down in a lying position. Then as one, they move again. And then they commit.

A cheetah running is truly magnificent. They move with such grace and precision. Within seconds they separate the mother from her fawn and then proceed to play with their food. They are just like a housecat with a mouse as they chase the confused fawn down. By the end they’re walking, nonchalantly. This is effortless dining for them.

We’ve now been charged by an elephant and watched cheetahs take down an impala within the space of a few hours. It’s National Geographic, live and in Technicolor. We have truly entered the Twilight Zone. This is incredible.

To be Continued...

Photos: Cheetahs under the acacia tree. Cheetah stalk. Cheetahs in unison. Cheetah at full tilt.