Month: February 2013

About a week ago Jesse was on a mission to track and find the Cheetah! This is no easy task as they are extremely well camouflaged and tend to stay away from the Lions. Cheetahs are much smaller than their Feline counterparts, Lions and Leopard.

Cheetahs tend to spend most of the day resting in the shade (like all cats) and will hunt mainly early morning and late afternoon, as the temperatures are much lower. Male Cheetah will form what we call a coalition – where two or more males will stick together, this will make hunting a little easier. Females are loners but the cubs will stay with their mother until they are about two years of age.

Cheetahs look very different to Leopard – (if you know what to look for). Cheetahs are much more slender in build and I like to compare them to a ballerina where as the Leopard reminds me of a Rugby Player. The Cheetah is tall and slender and has a certain grace to its stance, where as the Leopard is short and stocky and looks like it should not be messed with.

Cheetahs have small solid black spots all over the body. On the face they have the distinctive “Tear Mark” the black lines running down the side of the eye. Cheetahs also do not have retractable claws and their feet resemble that of a dog, however they are classified as feline. The cheetah has one retractable claw – this is called the dew claw which it will use to hit the prey in full flight. They are the fastest land mammals and can reach speeds of up to 120 km/ph. astoundingly they can accelerate from 0 – 100km/ph in just 3 seconds! The Leopard is much bigger in build and its body is covered with “Rosettes” black spots with a touch of brown in the middle.

Cheetah will use their speed to hunt prey; they are not ambush animals like the leopard. And do not possess brute strength or have the help of a pride like the Lion. This is often why other predators will “steal” food away from the Cheetah, due to its lack of physical strength. They are by far my favourite animal.

Jesse found these two males just having a relaxing afternoon in the sun, most probably discussing their tactics for the afternoon hunt 🙂

Luis was ready with his camera and took some great photos! What an honour to see these beautiful cats. And I shall give credit where credit is due – Well done Jesse for tracking them!

A couple of days ago the pride of Lions was tracked and spotted in a dry river bed. We have had quite a bit of rain, and most of it has now disappeared with the warm weather. This is perfect for Lions and other cats to have a nap in. The sand is cool and the shade plentiful.  As you can see in the photographs these cats were doing what they do best, which is sleeping. Lions will sleep for around 18 hours of the day (shocking!)

The pride was completely relaxed and just taking in the afternoon sun, most probably secretly planning their strategy for the evenings hunt. Within a pride of Lion the females will do most of the hunting. The male will then feed first, with the cubs closely following behind – lastly the females will have a turn at the feast, despite doing most of the work.

The Male lion is mainly there to protect his pride of females and young, also to fend off rival males. A male lion can weigh between 325 and 470 lbs and the biggest ever recorded lion weighed nearly a whopping 700 pounds! The average lifespan of a Lion in the wild is roughly about 13 years. A lion’s eyesight is five times better than that of a human being. Lions in Africa have a very distinctive roar which can be heard from up to five miles away. The roar is to make itself known in the area and to communicate with the rest of the pride. The roar can also warn rival males that this is my territory.

It is always a special moment when you come face to face with these magnificent creatures! And it makes one feel rather small and helpless if you experience the sheer size of these beasts from an open safari vehicle.