Daniel Kravat submitted this tense video to Latest Sightings. He witnessed the drama while visiting South Africa’s Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park.
On the prowl
Daniel recounts that he was watching three cheetahs drinking at a water hole prior to filming the incident. He noticed that they were very alert, but wasn’t sure what drew their attention.
After drinking, the trio continued on the prowl, spreading out across the grassy plain.
Watcher in the long grass
As he followed the progress of one of the cheetahs through his camera, he noticed something alarming. Directly on the path that the cheetah was walking, a lion lay hidden in the long, green grass.
With just its head showing above the grass, it may have looked like a rock or termite mound from the cheetah’s perspective. Although cheetahs have colour vision, the lion remained motionless, its camouflage effectively hiding it from view.
Onward with caution
Oblivious to the danger ahead, the cheetah walked on slowly. This suggests that the cheetah knew something was off, but it was just not sure what.
Daniel held his breath as the cheetah got ever closer to the hidden lion. Amazingly, even when the cheetah appeared to be looking directly at the lion’s now obvious head, it failed to realise the danger it was in.
Lion ambush strategy
For the most part, lions are ambush hunters. As they have limited endurance when running, they need to get as close as possible to their prey before launching their attack. Or, as is the case in this video, wait for the prey to get close to them.
However, in this instance, it was the lion that made the mistake. After the cheetah had stopped for some time, it seems the lion got impatient and launched itself toward the unsuspecting cheetah.
“I tawt I taw a puddy tat”
As the tawny lioness burst from the grass, it looked like the cheetah couldn’t quite process what it was seeing. In a tense few seconds, it stood rooted to the spot, with the lion getting closer with every stride.
Then, not a moment to soon, the cheetah’s fight-or-flight response kicked in. Completely outmuscled by the lion, it made the wise decision to turn and run for its life.
Although the lion had reached top speed by this time, it was the cheetah’s ability to accelerate that made all the difference.
Cheetahs are capable of accelerating to 100 km/h in just three seconds. Whether or not it got anywhere near that speed is unknown. What is clear is that the lion soon realised this was a race it would lose.
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Consolation prize?
Subsequently, as it ran out of steam, the lion noticed one of the other cheetahs standing nearby. Changing path, it then made a half-hearted effort to chase that one instead.
However, once again, the cheetah’s acceleration, agility and speed saw it easily outpace the lion. Resigning itself to the negative outcome, the lion came to a stop. Better to conserve its energy for the next unwitting victim.
Interpredator competition
Some readers may be surprised to see one predator chase another. In cases like this, it is more a case of the lion wanting to kill or see off a competitor than hoping to get a meal.
While it may not have caught any of the cheetahs, we can be sure that they would be well clear of the area before they let their guard down again.