Two cheetahs engaged in a hunt were pulled into a game of hide and seek when their intended prey, a baby impala, chose to hide from view by standing next to a car.
Watch The Sighting:
Unfortunately, the impala didn’t choose the best hiding place, as its hiding spot was soon discovered.
Sadly, in this game, there was only one place to hide.
A Rare Moment In The Bushveld
Albert explained the special moment as having been a one-of-a-kind experience for him and his family. “We visit the Kruger only once a year and have had very few cheetah sightings in the past, especially ones including a hunt, so this was an incredibly rare moment for us,” he said.
He explained they had been driving on the S28, near the Lower Sabie camp, when the action unfolded. Some vehicles were parked alongside the road, and they stopped to join them.
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He said they noticed a baby impala that had been separated from its mother. It stood sheepishly in a bush close to the road.
Mother Cheetah Teaches Cub To Hunt
However, they weren’t the only mother-baby pair on the scene. Also within view was a mother cheetah, walking alongside her cub. It appeared she was teaching her cub how to hunt.
Cheetah cubs typically learn to hunt by mimicking their mother and will practice hunting skills under her supervision.
She will sometimes bring live prey to them and release it in front of them, and then let them catch it.
Albert said, “It was a training session, and she only helped when needed.”
In teaching her cub to hunt, the mother helped to lure the impala away from the bush, driving it towards the little cheetah. This allowed the cub to catch it.
The cub, however, was new at hunting and wasn’t as adept as its mother at catching prey. Albert explained that the cub played around with the impala for about 10 minutes, unsure what to do with it.
Around this time, the impala managed to get away and moved to the other side of the vehicle, attempting to hide there, away from the cheetah.
“On closer inspection, you could see the impala’s eye was bleeding, probably from all the scratching and biting from the cub,” said Albert.
A Tentative Moment As Baby Impala Hides From View
Sadly for the impala, these cheetahs were masters at hide and seek and managed to find it. The cheetah ended its life soon after it was found.
The cub had learned some lessons, and its mother finished the job.
“We somehow knew what was about to happen next but were very excited to see it play out,” said Albert.
Mother Cheetah And Cub Leave Scene With Hunting Trophy
Following the ordeal, mother and cub could be seen walking off into the bushveld. The mother carried the impala, and the young cheetah walked by her side.
It was a heartbreaking moment as one mother had lost her baby. However, another mother had managed to feed hers. These are the raw emotions that a visit to the bushveld stirs up.