Tag: cheetah

The fast five

currychickenloveLeave a comment

Through my photography, I have been able to travel to the most beautiful places on this planet. But one definitely stands out to me like no other. The Masai Mara in Kenya, Africa. A heaven for photographers. It is one of the best places on earth to see big cats. I have traveled there three times already, and I fall in love over and over again. Last summer I was able to observe one of nature’s seven wonders, the big migration of the wildebeest that come over from the Serengeti to find fresh grass in the Masai Mara.

Many big cats use this chance to hunt wildebeest that got injured during the crossing. There is especially one group of wild cats that are known to almost all photographers. The fast five. The fast five are a coalition of five male cheetahs. Two brothers got together with a set of three brothers and formed a coalition to hunt and live together. Nowhere else on earth can this be observed.

I have had the privilege of observing these magnificent cats hunt, and it is truly incredible. Each one of them has a special dedicated role and their hunting is extremely coordinated, I have never seen anything like it in my life. They know that they have a higher survival rate if they work together. They hunt every day and are more successful than any other group out there. I am excited to see them again on my next trip to the Masai Mara, and I hope that many others get the privilege to see these beautiful cats.

It is truly incredible what nature has up its sleeves sometimes.

picture by author

The failed hunter

frog3Leave a comment

xeexx

Running through the grassy plain

While hungry one is in constant pain.

Sun shines providing a beautiful sheen.

The beast’s body coiled like a spring.

Claws have no need to be shown.

The prey lets out a fearful groan.

Chase begins, it moves quite fast.

Will the beast’s hunger always last?

Straight dash for a thousand feet.

Will the prey and death ever meet?

One false turn and the beast slips.

The prey escapes, it’s time to quit.

Hungry but in a dry safe place.

The chase will begin another day.

Love the Cheetah

indigoshellLeave a comment

For some reason, I’ve always loved cheetahs. Starting from around age 9 I’d watch Animal Channel for hours at a time, but it wasn’t until I was about 13 did I really notice the cheetahs. From then on I would watch cheetah documentaries and such until midnight or one in the morning, which was pretty darn late considering my usual bedtime was 9.

Firstly I think they’re beautiful. Beautiful physically and beautifully structured to get the most out of its main feature – their speed.

Long, spindly legs with powerful base muscles provide the power to charge through the fields. Unlike most felines, cheetah claws are only semi-retractable, meaning that their claws are always showing. This allows them to easily spring into action at a moment’s notice.

Their protruding chest contains a massive heart and pair of lungs for maximum oxygen intake, while their concave stomach and flexible spine allows for rapid and easy movement. A long tail acts as a rudder to stabilize quick turns and their especially long eyes views the world through a wide-angle lens.

Feline ears are usually pointed while the cheetah’s are rounded, like a bear’s. While walking or sitting, their hunched shoulders and fuzzy back almost have a bearlike appearance too. To me, their most distinctive qualities are the two black stripes that curve through their faces. The stripes start at the innermost corners of their eyes and curve down and around the nose before ending above their bottom lip. On some cheetahs the spots around the outer corners of their eyes are more distinctive, trailing down their cheeks or to the back of their necks.

Most predators hunt by simply leaping upon and overwhelming their prey. With the cheetah’s slimmer demeanor, they simply don’t have the power of a lion or leopard, so they have a trickier method instead. While chasing their prey, usually antelope, they’ll flick out a paw and trip it.

The sounds they make are ridiculous. They can purr and growl, sure, but they can also make peculiar (and adorable) chirping sounds. It almost sounds like the bark of a tiny dog, uttered through the vocal chords of a baby kitten, but through the body of a full-grown, dangerous cheetah.

Well, not very dangerous. Cheetahs are notoriously skittish and can even be too nervous to breed sometimes. In the San Diego Zoo, four of their cheetahs actually have canine companions to help calm them down and keep them happy.

People always ask me what my favourite animal is, and one of the first to pop into my mind is “cheetah,” along with “horse” and “snake.” Cheetahs have been with me longer than any other animal before, besides for dogs, and I long to interact with one in the wild one day. So far I haven’t even seen any in the few zoos I’ve been in!

(San Diego Zoo = Bucket listed)