The 2022 African Journals, Chapter 32, Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!, Part 2

Chapter 32:

Zoom!  Zoom!  Zoom!

Part 2

On whom does the cheetah prey? The old, the sick, the wounded, the weak, the very young, but never the strong. Lesson: If you would not be prey, you had better be strong. - G. Gordon Liddy

Well, there's certainly no ZOOM!  ZOOM!  ZOOM! going on with these sleeping lions.   "Flat cats" we call them.

Bunch of lazy cats.    Well, lions do spend most of the day sleeping and do their hunting at night.

Ah, four cheetahs.   The fastest Zoomers of all.   Three are sub-adults.   Cheetah cubs stay with their mother until about the age of two.   Males leave to live independently and sometimes the females leave in a couple months after that.   Or, if the mother isn't breeding, they might form a coalition with her until a suitor comes along.

These are known as Kweli's cubs.

Francis, our driver/guide, finds them in a boulder field.   The large rocks serve almost as a camouflage for the cats.   They also make photographing them to stand out from the boulders difficult.

Watching the cats are these wildebeest on the ridge of the hill.

We are right up level with the cheetahs on a sidehill.    Marg and Shelly are downhill, looking up at the cats.   I watch as a giraffe approaches their vehicle and wonder if they'd notice.

It walked to the front of the vehicle.   Still no attention from the girls.

It struck a nice pose, to no avail.   If defense of Marg and Shelly, the best way to photograph a giraffe is when you can see sky under their bodies as emphasizes how tall they are.

The girls are still focused on the cats, so the giraffe leaves.

Note the two giraffes in the background.

Then along comes a wildebeest.   It doesn't get a look.

It, too, strikes a nice pose.   They usually don't do that when they are so close to a vehice.

Well, no dice.    So he leaves with all his buddies.

I think they noticed!

Meanwhile, the cats are approaching us.

One cheetah lies down and the second one reaches it.   I think this is a mind game they are playing with the giraffe and wildebeest.

Nervous wildebeest watch from the ridge.

Three of the cats walk past us.

I'll tell you, you don't get a photo opportunity like this very often.   If ever!

A cheetah sits on an old termite mound for a better view while a giraffe keeps an eye on the cat.

Well, there are no zooming cheetahs here.

 Another location; another cheetah. Let's see if sleepy-head gives us some action.  

So sorry.   Did we wake you from your nap?

Some Thompson's gazelle watch from the top of a rise.    One has wandered away from the herd and is passing in front of the cheetah.

The cheetah spots the Tommie.

And here she goes!    ZOOM!  ZOOM! ZOOM!

From zero to 60 mph in three seconds.   The fastest land animal on earth.

We have to reposition our vehicle as it is blocked by the other two with our group, so I miss the takedown.

Next thing I know, a topi begins to chase the cheetah, causing the cats to leave her prey.

What a sight!    I've never seen a lone topi go after a cheetah.

He doesn't give up.   He keeps after her.

These photos are highly cropped.   Imagine a 5X7 index card.   Then crop out a small part about half the size of a postage stamp.   That's how cropped!

Then, he comes back to stand guard to make sure the cheetah doesn't come back.

Something will find the dead Tommie.   Hyenas, vultures, jackals, miscellaneous scavenging birds.   It won't go to waste.

The cheetah might even sneak back to get it, but not if this topi can help it.

On the way back to camp, we swing by the tree where we saw the leopard and her son.

I have seen a number of leopards in my travels in Africa and to have a calm leopard  not far from you is quite the experience.   It does not happen very often and it can stir your heart like no other animal.

And that is all the Zoom!   Zoom!    Zoom! for now.

Ruppell's vulture.