Warning – There are a few photos that may be disturbing to some. Nature!
On our first full day at Zulu Nyala our group met near the front lobby at 6:00 am for our morning excursion. Soon after turning into the reserve, as we drove along the fence line, I spotted the cheetah.
“Stop!” I yelled from the back seat, pleased with myself for seeing him. He was hiding in some brush, alert. A few yards away, seemingly unaware, grazed an impala.
“He’s on the hunt,” Chris, our guide, told us, pulling the jeep over. We watched for a few minutes until the cheetah lost interest and hunkered back down. For some reason, Chris said, the cheetah stopped tracking the unsuspecting animal.
Off we went. To our delight we had our first elephant sighting. The reserve is home to a herd of three females, two older adults, one younger. For the rest of the week we were on the hunt for the elephants, asking Chris to stop whenever we spotted them lumbering by in the near distance. I could have watched them play, pull down tree limbs to eat, stuff leaves in each other’s mouths, for hours. Their bond was beautiful.
Chris would drive along a pitted, dirt road for a while then take a right or left hand turn onto another dusty road. We looked down into watering holes, up into trees, pointing out animals, birds and the occasional reptile. We saw our first monkeys during our morning ride. They perched in trees, swung from limb to limb; babies hung on to their mothers’ backs and bellies as they scampered along the paths created from their habitual use.
We continued on our excursion, all of us quietly giddy (and sometimes not so quietly) to be up with the rising sun, out in the cool morning air, watching animals in their natural habitat, safe.
Here’s where the photos may be a bit disturbing
Chris, answering a call on his radio, told us we were in for a rare treat; the cheetah, who hunts every 5 – 8 days, had just made a kill. On our way to the cheetah he told us they hadn’t witnessed a kill in over a year. When we arrived at the scene of the crime there sat the cheetah with the impala he had killed a few minutes before. His sides bellowed in and out as he caught his breath. He was aware of us and the other jeeps around him but didn’t seem bothered or threatened.
Chris told us the cheetah probably chased the impala into the electric fence, which was just on the other side of the road we drove on, to stun it. He then suffocated it, leaving a hole in the impala’s neck as evidence. We sat in silence watching the drama unfold. The cheetah laid next to his kill, resting from the exertion it took to take down his prey. He panted, looked around, panted, looked around. Eventually, he got up and made his way to the still warm carcass.
He started on the impala’s flank, the meatiest part of the animal, ripped flesh and muscle from bone, licked up blood. We watched him eat, sides still heaving, until the impala’s stomach was exposed. The cheetah would stop, look around, listen for other predators who might want in, get back to his meal. We finally drove away, leaving the cheetah to eat in peace. Some of the people I told were surprised by my excitement at seeing this. It’s the circle of life, survival of the fittest, food chain hierarchy. Other impalas will be born this spring, some will live, some won’t. The odds of seeing a kill in the six days we were on the reserve were against us. As Chris said, we watched something special.
The rest of the day we explored the grounds where we were staying, met up with our friends for lunch, went out for an afternoon excursion. The day’s humidity gave way to a dryer, cooler night. My first night’s sleep was interrupted by the blowing wind which caused the canvass walls of our tent to flap and snap most of the night. I was nervous, kept thinking someone was in our room. I knew what to expect our second night, hoped to sleep through. We watched the sun set from our porch and called it a day.
You really did see some great wildlife, and that sunset looks so African. 🙂
Thanks, Sylvia. It’s so beautiful there as you know. 🙂
Wow! What an amazing experience, Geralyn. The photos are fantastic. I can’t wait to show Derek this post. He’s really enjoyed the previous ones. The elephants are spectacular!
Thanks for sharing my experience with Derek, Jill. I LOVED the elephants, could watch them all day. We took so many photos (and videos) of them. 🙂
How incredible it must be to witness these things in nature, the kill included. Must seem so different from our constantly moving, everyday lives.
Thanks, Carrie. Very different from my life sitting behind a desk, staring at a computer screen, 40 hours/week.
I bet!
Wow!!! What an incredible experience! And you have the photos to prove it! These belong in a magazine!
Thanks, L. Marie. I admit to taking a lot of graphic photos of the cheetah and impala but spared everyone on WP! 🙂
Wow amazing! What an experience
Thanks, Lynn. It was an amazing experience.
So cool!
Team Cheetah! How awesome.
It was! 🙂
What a morning excursion!
Really odd question, but I can’t help but ask: could you smell a difference in the air after the kill? Blood, extra dust, furry sweat? I know you weren’t that close…but close enough?
I didn’t notice any smell from the jeep. But, I bet a little closer we would have smelled it all – blood, dust and furry sweat!
I did not get to see animals. Very short trip. What an amazing experience!
Thanks, Veronica. We went from Johannesburg to Safari to Cape Town, all very different.
Wow, what an amazing experience Geralyn. I would have loved to have seen that Cheetah chasing down the impala. When we were living in India, we got to witness camels and elephants walking down busy city streets. One day we decided to go to a place where you could pay to go on an elephant ride. It was amazing. I just feel bad that my son was too young to remember it.
That is also an amazing sunset.
🙂
Staci, it was incredible to see. The cheetah was so beautiful. And the elephants were sooooo social with each other. Loved watching them! And they’re matriarchal, too. 🙂 Hope you’re well.
All is well, thanks Geralyn. Always busy, but that’s life, right. 🙂
Sure is!
The cheetah is an awesome little big cat. Love the elephants and the way you captured their interactions. Fabulous.
The elephants were so social, always interacting with each other. That’s a matriarchal society for you! 🙂
Amazing sunset and photographs. Great post Geralyn!
Thank you, Mary!
Oh my, what a treat! I would give anything to see a cheetah. Leopards are cool too, but cheetahs rock! Your images of the dining cheetah are amazing. Oh, my heart. And elephants too, on the same day!?! What an adventure. I really envy you this trip. 😉
Hmm, perhaps there’s a safari in your future, Linda?
Hmm. You’ve got me thinking! Sounds like it wasn’t terribly hot?
It was hot during the day. Temps got up to high 80s, low 90s a few times but would cool off in the evening and be cool in the early morning. The dollar is very strong right now, too, so prices are reasonable.
Right now I’m watching a PBS special on the Gorongosa Park in Mozambique. There’s a Boise connection to this place and I’m feeling a strong pull. I could handle 80s & 90s. Thinking….
Do it! 🙂
I’m sure gonna do some research. Thanks for the inspiration!