Seeing big cats hunt is the highlight of any safari, as lions, leopards and cheetahs often manage to steal the show. Their power, speed and stalking abilities are truly incredible, and seeing them in action never fails to be awe inspiring.
Sinead Pieterse caught this hunt on camera, as a cheetah crept closer to a tasty looking impala that it had in mind for its next meal. It might have had the cover of the long grass for assistance, but this approach was still tense and fraught with risk as the cheetah moved closer and closer.
Through The Long Grass
The cheetah might have been capable of some incredible speed, but there was no need to reveal its secret weapon too early in the hunt. Instead, it worked on sneaking up as close to the impala as it could get.
By putting itself in a more advantageous position it would have to expend considerably less energy on the hunt if it was successful, meaning it would benefit even more from the nutrition offered by its prey rather than needing it to replenish energy expended.
Getting there would take some skill and caution, but the cheetah was far enough away from the impala that it could move with near impunity. The closer it got, the more careful it would need to be as the slightest sound might give it away.
Under Constant Alert
For its part, the impala did seem to be aware of its surroundings. When those that don’t pay attention to the risks of sneaky predators live short lives by default, the remaining population learns that they are always at risk.
This impala had a good position on some raised land which gave it a clear view of the area, and in-between bouts of grazing it was taking the time to survey its surroundings to make sure there were no predators eyeing it up for a potential meal.
This made the cheetah’s job more difficult, but not impossible. All it needed to do was get close enough to pounce, and when it could reach its top speed in around three seconds, this distance wasn’t as small as it might have been for other big cats.
A Quick Risk Assessment
At times, it looked like the impala was looking directly at the cheetah, and as it was visible to the camera as a dark shape in the grass, it’s reasonable to think the impala could see it too.
Despite its stealth, it would appear that the cheetah was at risk of being spotted, so it was remaining very still while it watched the impala, waiting to see what its prey would do.
If it bolted, then the cheetah would have a chase on its paws, and it was still far enough away that a successful hunt wasn’t guaranteed. If the impala hadn’t seen the cheetah yet, then it might stay in place a little longer and allow the big cat to continue to slowly close the gap.
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Timing Is Everything
When the impala didn’t flee, the cheetah took the opportunity to continue stalking, preparing itself to break out its incredible acceleration and top speed to bag itself a good sized meal.
But a last second mistake landed the cheetah in uncertain waters, for although it was capable of amazing speeds, the impala was also able to break out velocity of its own, and the cheetah had misjudged the gap at the last moment.
It broke into a sprint but the impala had already disappeared into the trees around the edge of the clearing, and it appeared that the cheetah had already slowed to a jog before moving out of sight. Another hungry evening for the big cat.