10 Incredible Cheetah Moments | BBC Earth

Kenya. Famous for its big cats, the supreme hunters. Cheetahs specialize in hunting at speed. Though fast, they're fragile creatures built to sprint after small prey. They don't have the strength or weight of a lion to bring down larger animals. This male is different. He doesn't hunt alone. He's learned that there is strength in numbers. But here, there are not just two, but three cheetahs. A band of brotherly have changed their tactics and by doing so have taken their prey by surprise. They have learned that working together, they can bring down large prey. An ostrich, a bird that towers over a cheetah and is more than twice as heavy. It can't fly to escape danger, but it can lash out with a deadly kick. A female, unaware as yet of any danger. Even with three of them, this is still highly risky. If one gets injured, the other two couldn't hope to tackle such large prey. On the other hand, if they get it right, the rewards are... The male has spotted one of the brothers, but only one. It's not too worried. Then suddenly, there are three. The female is slower to realize the danger and the cheetahs switch targets. It takes the combined effort and weight of all three brothers to bring down this powerful bird. Even now, the ostrich could land a fatal kick. So far, the brothers are winning. Ostriches have yet to find a way to foil such tactics. They spotted a herd of hemspock in a clearing. For young cheetahs, these are a very dangerous target. Three cats all together. They look like a force to be reckoned with. I don't quite know how this is going to play out. I have seen cheetahs hunt before, but out in the open plains, and I'm not sure how it's going to change their behavior somewhere as thick as this. It's very, very scrubby and bushy. OK, cheetah there, moving in. Right. OK, one's running. Second one running towards the game. They don't yet know that the cheetahs are gaining on them. They're actually just... OK, full-on run from the front cheetah, full-on run. They're just scattering the herd. The hemspock panic. The cheetahs are after an easy target. OK. Confusion, confusion. It's very hard trying to keep track of three cheetah. Wanda's camera captures what I can't see. She's chasing one animal away from the group. In amongst the bushes, Wanda's losing speed. Her sister Shiloh charges in on the left, but the hemspock is now so far ahead, it's safe. The thick vegetation has scuppered our cheetahs' chances. Wanda skulks back to the clearing, where the tables have turned. Oh, just got charged by a big, big hemspock there. They're now at risk of being skewered by this large male. The prey knows that the predator is around. The cheetah have lost their advantage. Now they're just getting chased away. They're being humiliated. Taking on such large prey was a real rookie mistake. Back in Samara, Chile has risked a long journey through a landscape full of danger. After a long night stranded in a thicket, the elephant herd that trapped the hungry family has moved on. Chile last made a kill five days ago. This family needs to eat. Luckily, beyond the acacia woodland, the open plains teem with springbok. Her kittens are starving hungry, so she must take her chances. With dwindling energy, Chile must choose her target wisely. But the kittens, especially the bold cub Chassa, are a distraction. They don't understand the rules of the hunt. Her prey are near Samara's boundary fence, which might be to her advantage. Her target is trapped. Success. It's a meal at last for Chile. Her gamble in traveling so far with such young kittens has paid off. The kittens are digging in, and this time Chebe is not on the sidelines. Around this age, six weeks, kittens are old enough to have their first taste of meat. For Julius, this is an exciting moment. She's just caught her first springbok after a long time, and we've just been witnessing youngsters nibbling on that carcass, which is actually exciting because that's what we've been wanting to see, whether they're actually going to eat meat or they're still reliant on milk. But it seems like she's introducing them into meat, and yeah, it's quite exciting times. Mom is full, and we're no longer worried that she'll run out of milk, as we were before. And yeah, the youngsters look happy. Jumping up and down, I see their tummies are actually quite full, so everybody's happy. I'm happy, Chile's happy, kittens are happy. Chile's risk has paid off. She took her kittens on this epic journey, and at times it looked really bleak. But all five have survived, and she's managed to make that all-important kill. When you're up against climate change, you have to adapt your strategy to survive, even if it means risking it all. This intimacy also allowed me to see things I, quite frankly, could never have spotted if I were following a purely wild family. Pete, he's lost his first teeth. Toki's lost his canines, eight months old, and his first baby teeth have gone. You're growing up, boy. Ah, they still hurt, though. Yeah, they're still sharp. Being with them like this did have its problems, though. I wanted them to be more independent, but as long as we were walking with them, they'd be looking to us for guidance the whole time. Also, I simply couldn't keep up with them when they set off hunting, nor could I hide as well as they could in the grass. We'd reached a point in their growing up when I had to start putting more distance between us. For me to stay close and not disturb their prey, I began to use the car as a mobile hide. Most of the animals here in Lewa are used to seeing vehicles, and they pretty much ignore them. This way, I could keep a close eye on Toki and Sambu as they practiced hunting without disturbing them or their prey. And they certainly needed a lot of practice. Time and again, they'd chase animals that were way too big and potentially very dangerous for them. A direct kick from a zebra could easily crush their skull, and my heart was in my throat every time they decided to take on the heavyweights. There were times when it felt just too close. You may be fast on your feet, but you've got a lot to learn. Cheetah cubs become independent around 18 months old. And although the cubs have grown physically, I want to see if they've progressed developmentally, especially when it comes to their most critical survival skill, hunting. It's quite incredible to think that within three months, these two cubs will be on their own. And, yeah, it's a worry. Seb and Morwa have strong instincts, but becoming a skilled predator relies on getting an education from mum. OK, she's on the move. I'm definitely hunting. The cubs are a good 50 metres behind, so I'm going to see if I can skirt around and keep up with her. Last time I saw them, the cubs were left behind when Savannah hunted. Now they follow. She's not picking one direction and following that route. She's meandering, sniffing the air, checking out every thicket. Savannah weaves through the landscape. This could be the cubs' opportunity to observe a hunting masterclass. This is when things really ramp up. This is Savannah telling the cubs to get involved. Follow me when you know I've caught something. Come in and help if you can, but at least get that experience of paws on a live animal. OK, let's go. She's gone into a very thick, bushy area here. I'll try and skirt around the edge, but if there's something in here, she might get lucky. There's stealth and silence and persistence that's going to get her next meal. To become successful hunters, the cubs need this lesson in stealth. Very intently looking into the bushes. Given the bushy landscape, she may well be teaching her cubs the art of the ambush. The trees conceal Savannah's attack. It's a success. She's taught the cubs it's not all about the chase. She's still not let go of the jugular. She's not taking any risks. Even if it appears dead, it might not necessarily be dead. We think of cheetahs as high-speed pursuit predators, but they're also adaptable ambush hunters. In catching a duiker, one of the Kalahari's smaller antelopes, she's giving her cubs a chance to handle live prey. The cubs help mum dispatch the duiker with ease. The progress they've made since I last saw them is encouraging, but they're not quite grown up yet. When you come to the Maasai Mara, if you see one cheetah, I think you should be over the moon. But to see eight almost fully grown cheetahs, it's just a riot of spots. Eight and a half hours of looking. We've finally got a phone call to say that they've found five, so that's great news. We're going to go and find them now and see what they're doing. We were expecting five cheetahs, there were actually eight, which is quite bizarre and very unusual to see eight cheetahs all together. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Seeing eight cheetahs, it's, you know, a tide of lions makes sense, but what do you call them? I think a relay team of cheetah. It's just wonderful. After a long afternoon of feeding and snoozing, at dusk, Seba and Morwa get playful. He's got an obsession with my rucksack. It doesn't smell of anything other than sweaty Scotsman. But it seems sweaty Scotsman is like catnip to Morwa. Don't bite it. Nope. I can hiss at my coat, but just don't bite it. Hey. Nine months ago, the cubs kept their distance. Now, not so much. Please no. That is inedible. Okay, fella, put it down. Oh, okay, it's three against one, I get it. Right, so mum's got my camera. Morwa, you've got my coat. Seba, you're being reasonably well behaved at the moment. Come on, guys. Right, just leave it. You have one wrong move and I could get myself into trouble here. Look at you, gosh. They're all wide-eyed and eager. It's funny, I've seen that with other cats, that when it gets dark, there's a change in behavior. I'm a little bit scared about what you might do if I try and push you away from that. Come on. It's not worth beating up a Scotsman for. That's a bit of an angry-looking face. Oh, Christ, look at him now. No, no, no, no. Scaredy cats. Okay, it's time to call it a day. See you tomorrow. Springbok are the most successful desert antelopes in Africa. With short, thin fur, they can easily offload heat by sweating. The white patterns on their coats help to reflect solar radiation. And they never need to drink. They can extract all the moisture they need from the most meager desert plants. But in southern Africa's deserts, there's a lurking challenge. Cheetahs shadow the springbok herds. They, too, evolved in the desert. Thinly furred and lightly built, everything about them is designed to deal with heat and speed. Cheetahs are sprinters, not made for a long-distance chase. So they must get close. But springbok have keen senses. True to their name, springbok can leap two meters high. It's jumping with a purpose. It signals a warning to the others and confuses attackers. After such a burst of activity, springbok need to cool down fast. Here in the Kalahari, temperatures can be unbearable. But large animals can at least find a shady haven under the broad canopies of camel-thorn trees. The rains always bring new life to northern Kenya. Animals everywhere start new families, and there's a sudden increase in the number of young animals around. Impala fawns can walk within an hour of being born, and they can run and dodge trouble within half a day. They proved way too nimble for the cubs during the last rainy season. But Toki and Sambu now had a whole lot more experience and speed on their side. Because of the unique relationship we had with Toki and Sambu, I was able to move in close to share with them this enormously significant event. I had to keep pinching myself to realise that the cubs were now all but living wild, and yet they allowed me to approach them even at this sensitive moment. It's a really weird mixture of emotions, because whilst it's always upsetting to see anything killed, especially a young animal, I've spent so much time with these cheetahs, and frankly, hoping that they're going to be successful. This is such a major, major leap towards independence. It may sound crazy, but their success gave me an overwhelming feeling of pride. Deep thicket of acacia. So she needs to get to a different area, which unfortunately for her, she has to go through this thicket, which is very dangerous. This is a territory of a large pride of lions, deadly predators of cheetahs. But lions are not the only threat to the family's survival. Well, in the thickets, there's a lot of things that you can encounter. Elephants love the acacia thickets because they feed on acacias, which are very nutritious trees. So those could also pose a threat. There's also a lot of grasses, which then attracts buffalos. And buffalos, we know they're very notorious at actually trampling at young baby predators and all of that. So those are the risk factors that she's facing going through these thickets over here. If she's to feed her family, Chili has to navigate through the thicket to the prey-rich area on the other side. Her best bet is to proceed with caution and keep a low profile. Nature has given newborn cheetahs a helping hand to deter predators. Their fuzzy grey mane aids in camouflage and mimics the fearsome honey badger. But it doesn't fool the pied crow. The vervet monkeys join in with a special alarm call, warning of a predator on the ground. Prey is almost in sight. But for the safety of her kittens, Chili has no choice but to hunker down and hide. Once again, little Chebe is last to arrive. And just in the nick of time. Tired, hungry and surrounded, all Chili can do is sit out and hope no one discovers them. Chili is definitely more confident, more self-assured as a mum than Savannah. She's raised nine cubs to independence in the past versus Savannah's five. She's much more prepared to take what seems like an incredible risk.