Cheetahs are much smaller than the other big African predators and unlike female lions, hyenas and wild dogs, a female cheetah does not hunt in prides or packs but solely on her own, which means she must keep absolute care to not get hurt when facing enemies – an injured cheetah that is unable to hunt is ultimately doomed to die. Therefore, it should not surprise that, according to research reports, the probability of a cheetah baby born in the Serengeti reaching reproductive age is less 5%.
Come join us and watch when a cheetah mother has to protect her two cubs not only against a lion but also against a hyena – at the same time!
filmed in 4K in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania
safari guided by Hamisi Masawe
safari based at Ndutu Lodge
AI Generated·May contain errors
Wednesday, March 20th, the penultimate day of our Serengeti March 2024 Safari,
begins with a cheetah and her two cubs. A few minutes after our arrival, my guide wants to
maneuver the Defender a little further to the right. When obviously awakened by the sound of
the engine, another predator raises its head from the tall grass. A lion. Very close to each other.
I am sure that this lion is one of the five nomads that we have encountered several times in
this part of the NCA. Never far from each other, and so we strongly suspect that there are other
lions in the tall grass now. We can of course only guess what is going on in the cheetah's
heads at this moment. What is undisputed, however, is that the three are now aware of the lion's
presence. However, they do not seem to perceive it as a threat, at least not yet. Instead of making
a run for it, mother and offspring move, albeit very carefully, towards a ditch filled with
brackish water. Caution or not, if there were more lions lurking on their way to the water,
the two cubs would most likely be doomed. And as if the cheetah didn't already have enough problems,
a hyena trots up from the opposite edge of the ditch. Now the mother has to keep an eye on two
potentially life-threatening enemies. Now the baby's also charging. A threatening behavior
that is expressed by the cub's tense posture, but above all by its quiet hissing and growling.
Sounds that I have never heard from cheetahs, not even in professionally filmed animal documentaries.
At half past seven, the lion's patience runs out. The cat attacks.
Some people might be surprised if I now explain that we are both relieved that the cheetahs were
able to escape. You could even accuse me of double standards after all, when a cheetah chases after
smaller and weaker animals. I would like to see a kill. In this confrontation between cheetahs and
a lion, however, I am glad that the smaller and weaker animals remain unharmed. Anyone who actually
wants to blame me for hypocrisy would be thinking too short-sightedly, because there is an imminently
important difference. Cheetahs hunt solely out of self-preservation, to feed themselves and their
young. This lion, on the other hand, wanted to kill animals that may sometimes be a nuisance,
but in no way endanger the survival of his species and, unlike hyenas, would hardly be in a position
to challenge him for a kill.
