Cheetah Predation

[Spalea]

Mark Dumbleton: " I found two male Cheetah drinking at the Rooiputs waterhole in the Kgalagadi mid-morning in December 2012, the hottest time of year. They looked quite active and I decided to stay with them. Plenty of new born Springbok were in the area, and I was sure they would hunt down some of these youngsters.

The Cheetah moved about 500m south of the Rooiputs waterhole, and killed a stray baby Springbok on the eastern ridge of the Nossob River bed. They began eating the baby in the shade of a tree, when a mother Springbok and her newborn wandered over the ridge towards the two feeding Cheetah.
In no time, the two Cheetah left their kill and chased the mother and her calf behind my car, catching the baby about 10m away from me. The cries from the baby Springbok sent shivers down my spine, intensifying the experience of a fragile battle for life and death. It was an incredible experience, and to be able to photograph the drama so close to me was a moment I will never forget."

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