Cameron Schmidt submitted this video to Latest Sightings. He witnessed the action while on a game drive at Pumba Private Game Reserve in South Africa.
The chase is on
Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land mammals, capable of speeds exceeding 100 km/h. So it was with great excitement that Cameron got to see one sprinting towards him in pursuit of its prey.
Ahead of it, a desperate blesbok ran for its life. Although itself capable of speeds up to 70 km/h, it was no match for the sprinting cheetah.
Slippery underfoot
Furthermore, due to the soft rain that was falling, the ground was slippery. Consequently, as the blesbok tried to change directions, its legs slid out from underneath it.
The cheetah seized this moment as the lucky break it needed. In a flash, it was onto the antelope and trying to secure its jaws around the blesbok’s throat.
Job done?
Initially, it looked like it had been successful in securing a death-grip. The blesbok lay exhausted on its side while the cheetah crouched over it.
Typically, cheetahs suffocate their prey by blocking the prey’s windpipe. This can take several minutes, so they must do so quickly to prevent them from making any noise that might attract larger predators.
Risen from near-death
However, after a few moments, it became apparent that the blesbok was not about to give up. Still full of fight, it rose to its feet with the cheetah clinging on in desperation.
Furthermore, by a twist of fate, the cheetah found its body wedged between the antelope’s horns. Now the tables turned, and the cheetah risked taking a stab to its abdomen.
Thankfully, it was able to spring out of danger but was still faced with the daunting prospect of bringing down the embattled blesbok.
Breathing freely
As a result of this manoeuvre, we are finally able to see why the antelope was still fighting with such strength. Instead of biting over its throat, the cheetah had only managed to bite the blesbok at the base of its jaw.
As such, the antelope could breathe freely, thus fueling its body in its desperate fight for survival. Compounding matters, it held a considerable size advantage over the predator.
In the balance
Still, after a prolonged battle, both predator and prey were beginning to tire. It seemed that the outcome of this tussle was going to be determined by either grit or luck.
While the cheetah held on, the blesbok tried kicking the cat in the ribcage, but still it refused to let go.
The cheetah tried using its weight to pull the antelope down to the ground. However, even though the cat had embedded both its fangs and claws in its prey, the antelope refused to fall.
Conversely, while the antelope was able to stay on its feet, it could not flee as the cheetah refused to let go.
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Lucky break
As time passed, it was anyone’s guess as to which of them would emerge victorious. For the cheetah to prevail, it would have to shift its grip to the throat.
However, to do so, it would have to let go, giving the blesbok a chance to escape.
And that seems to be exactly what happened. In a moment that would turn the tide in the antelope’s favour, the cheetah let go…
Unsurprisingly, the blesbok took off before the cheetah could react. As a result, the cheetah was left in its tracks, with nothing left to do but look for a new victim.
