Posted by Bryan Pereira on April 23, 2015 at 8:20 PM
In the Mara it is not uncommon for one or two cheetahs to hop onto a vehicle in order to get a better view of any potential prey, however for 5 cheetahs to do it is something truly unique.
I had come across the cheetah Malaika (Swahili for angel) last year when she had just had her cubs and like most cheetahs she has a calm manner as long as you respect her, stay in your vehicle and stay calm yourself. Last week we came across her again.
Not wanting to disturb the family we kept our distance but one of the more curious juveniles headed directly for us and jumped onto the vehicle. After a few seconds she stepped off and we backed away.
Malaika then approached our vehicle with her cubs. We could have raced off and risked a catastrophe as she and the cubs scattered and followed us, or just stayed put. Park rangers were nearby and we could see them keeping watch, prepared to intervene if they felt necessary. So our guide let her come over.
Soon we had five cats on our vehicle with mum taking the top roof spot. Starting the engine or moving again would have panicked the family so we let them roam free until the family was ready to move. We are after all, visitors in their home.
The juveniles played with several rubber parts on the vehicle. One walked right over us from the front of the vehicle to the back and I had to remove our bean bags as they seemed to take a liking to them.
The crowning moment for me was when one of the cheetahs bent right into the vehicle and kissed my lens.
Needless to say we got some amazing shots.
I hope if I am lucky to see Malaika again and look forward to see how the juveniles grow up. As a final note I will add that no encouragement was given to the cheetahs (quite the opposite in fact) and throughout the amazing experience all park rules were adhered to by our professional guides.
Discussion
0 repliesI had come across the cheetah Malaika (Swahili for angel) last year when she had just had her cubs and like most cheetahs she has a calm manner as long as you respect her, stay in your vehicle and stay calm yourself. Last week we came across her again.
Not wanting to disturb the family we kept our distance but one of the more curious juveniles headed directly for us and jumped onto the vehicle. After a few seconds she stepped off and we backed away.
Malaika then approached our vehicle with her cubs. We could have raced off and risked a catastrophe as she and the cubs scattered and followed us, or just stayed put. Park rangers were nearby and we could see them keeping watch, prepared to intervene if they felt necessary. So our guide let her come over.
Soon we had five cats on our vehicle with mum taking the top roof spot. Starting the engine or moving again would have panicked the family so we let them roam free until the family was ready to move. We are after all, visitors in their home.
The juveniles played with several rubber parts on the vehicle. One walked right over us from the front of the vehicle to the back and I had to remove our bean bags as they seemed to take a liking to them.
The crowning moment for me was when one of the cheetahs bent right into the vehicle and kissed my lens.
Needless to say we got some amazing shots.
I hope if I am lucky to see Malaika again and look forward to see how the juveniles grow up. As a final note I will add that no encouragement was given to the cheetahs (quite the opposite in fact) and throughout the amazing experience all park rules were adhered to by our professional guides.
video and more images at:
http://exposuretours.com/blog_cheetah_encounter.html