Cheetahs Hunting Zebras
By Lothar. Filed in South Africa |
Today is our last day in South Africa. We are sitting in the Johannesburg British Airways airport lounge and are enjoying internet and food and drink prior to our overnight flight to London and tomorrow, home!!
Gabi and I are ready for a break from Africa and are looking forward to Christmas and hopefully snow!
We spent the last 2 days in Pilanesberg National Park in the Northwest Province and had exceptional animal encounters. First there were rhinos coming very close to the car for great picture taking ( only the “Kodak Picture Spot”sign was missing), then we had a herd of elephants next to us. They were happily munching on yellow flowers and tree leaves, luckily not paying any attention to us . The kudu antelopes were not shy, as they were in Kruger Park, and were also holding still for more pictures. We saw the rare Nyala antelopes, the usual zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, impalas and others. At lunchtime, a mother warthog with her 4 children playing around, kept us entertained. In the late afternoon we spotted 2 cheetahs about 30 yards from the dirt road. They were 2 males rolling in the grass, just waking up from their siesta. After some stretching and yawning, they started to stroll through the high grass meadow, looking for dinner.
They were sitting tall with their backs to us, ears pointed, scanning the area, looking like big twin cats. A herd of giraffes had spotted the cheetahs and ran for about 400 yards where the giraffes stopped, but did not take their eyes of the predators.
It was funny to see how the long necks and heads of all the giraffes kept moving syncronously. Next some zebras and wildebeest (who often graze together) showed up on the scene. We had learned that the zebras take their cues from the giraffes and use the giraffes as a predator warning system. These zebras apparently had not paid enough attention and the 2 cheetahs gave them a chase. I do not believe that the cheetahs tried really hard though. They are the fastest land mammal and can run at a speed of 80 mph for a fairly short distance. So the cheetahs gave up after about a quarter mile and we did not have to feel sorry for a dead zebra. It was a great treat for us though ! We mentioned the episode to a safari guide from Denmark who has lived here for the last 2 years and he still has not seen any cheetahs in the wild.
Just as we were leaving the park we saw a pride of 8 lions lolling around in the grass. The group consisted of females and their cubs who were really cute ( from the safety of our car).
We considered ourselves very lucky and could not have had a better day. The next day we went back and had a picnic inside the park. The picnic areas are fenced- in with electric wires to protect us from the animals, but when you walk from your car to the picnic spot, you do not have any protection at all! I guess we are usually not part of the predators diet !