Cheetah spotting on safari

Over the space of two weeks in February 2020 we followed the danger-fraught lives of two brother cheetahs who live on Lolldaiga Hills. They provided us endless hours of fascinating viewing, and even seemed to be so relaxed by our presence. Of course, we were the only car watching them every time (as usual on safari with us!) and they gave us a real show - walking, stalking, preening in the sunshine. We felt blessed by their presence.

Then, a week later, we saw them again. Just next to where they had been the week before. Except they weren’t. One of the brothers was missing. The remaining cheetah seemed very distressed - mewing and calling for this sibling in a heartbreaking way that made only the very stony-hearted not weep in sorrow. We watched him again as he paced up and down the area crying out, but with no answer to his call.

We don’t know what happened to the other brother. It seemed like whatever had happened we had only missed by a short amount of time because of his distress, however we are likely to never know the answer to his disappearance. Cheetahs are seen as competition by leopards and lions and they often spar with both. Lions in particular are known to kill a cheetah in order to keep their patch safe. Another possibility is an accident - cheetahs are known to be very delicate. Their long legs (which allow for their epic speed) are thin and a mis-step or a thorn can easily put a cheetah out of action, and therefore put his life at risk instantly.

We hope greatly to see the brothers reunited soon and be able to share some happy news, however we won’t hold our breath. So if life in the bush - beautiful, scary, cruel.