Wednesday, 20 April 2016

Cheetahs and vultures in the Serengeti

The vast majority of safari guests put Africa’s cats at the top of the list of animals that they hope to see. Fortunately, Tanzania’s national parks have robust populations of all cat species and Serengeti National Park is particularly special.
The vast majority of safari guests put Africa’s cats at the top of the list of animals that they hope to see. Fortunately, Tanzania’s national parks have robust populations of all cat species and Serengeti National Park is particularly special. - See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/cheetahs-and-vultures-in-the-serengeti/#sthash.rdmQ6YGH.dpuf
The vast majority of safari guests put Africa’s cats at the top of the list of animals that they hope to see. Fortunately, Tanzania’s national parks have robust populations of all cat species and Serengeti National Park is particularly special. - See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/cheetahs-and-vultures-in-the-serengeti/#sthash.rdmQ6YGH.dpuf
Tourists regularly see most, if not all, of the big cats on safari in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. We know where the resident leopards, lions and cheetahs live and sometimes, guests get lucky and get to watch a hunt
On a recent Serengeti safari, our lucky guests witnessed two cheetah brothers hunting. As you can see from the photos, the cats were resting in the grass when they spotted a herd of Thomson’s gazelle. The cats went from chilling out to pursuit mode within seconds.
The cats stalked the gazelles until they were within a short distance. Acting as a team, one of them startled the gazelles while the other hid, waiting for the right moment to chase. The spectacle was over in seconds. Right before our eyes, the cat brought down a gazelle, ripping into it with its dew claw.

The cheetahs dragged their hard-earned meal under an acacia tree and within minutes vultures, a jackal and marabou storks were all stalking the kill site. The cheetahs ate their meal as fast as they could, knowing that at any moment larger predators could try to steal their catch
The feeding was over within 20 minutes with the vultures getting braver and braver until eventually the mob of vultures got so aggressive that they forced the cheetah brothers to give up their gazelle carcass. We timed the vultures devouring the carcass – it took them less than five minutes to strip the carcass to the bone and remove all evidence of a dead body. Our guests were gobsmacked by what they witnessed. - See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/cheetahs-and-vultures-in-the-serengeti/#sthash.rdmQ6YGH.dpuf
On their way back to camp, we found the brothers resting under a tree with full bellies
On our way back to camp, we found the brothers resting under a tree with full bellies. - See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/cheetahs-and-vultures-in-the-serengeti/#sthash.rdmQ6YGH.dpuf
On our way back to camp, we found the brothers resting under a tree with full bellies. - See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/cheetahs-and-vultures-in-the-serengeti/#sthash.rdmQ6YGH.dpuf

No comments:

Post a Comment