cheetah

Probably my favourite picture from this holiday. Finding a cheetah was always thrilling, and it was lovely to see that even these smaller cats were not at all worried about being watched from a safari vehicle, and just went about their business. We didn't drive right up to them - instead we left...

To see this animal in its natural habitat was a very special moment for me, just amazing.

One cub taking a rest and a bloody look at us - the rest were still hungry.

The mother and, we think, six cubs feasting on the Thompson's Gazelle entirely oblivious of the six or so Land Cruisers parked around them. However, I must say that the mother's ears were constantly checking for sounds. She clearly did not regard us as a threat.

This female had just caught a young Thompson's Gazelle and disdainfully carried it along just in front of us.

When she eventually returned she clearly hadn't been able to make a kill.

At Tshukudu, on our walk with the young cheetahs we got a first-hand impression of just how close some of them are to fully become independent...

While we were staying at Tshukudu they had four cheetahs that were almost fully grown, but their (hand-raised) mother had recently died. While these cats were increasingly returning to a fully wild life, they came for a walk with us one afternoon, allowing rather unusual photographic opportunities.

This is why I love Kenya! Our driver/guide -Mr Ben Gitari saw this cheetah in the distance strolling towards us -so he drove off in the opposite direction! Seeing the shocked look on my face he laughed and told me to chill -he was sure he knew where Top Cat was heading. We positioned...

This lone male Cheetah sat up on an old termite mound atop a low ridge scanning the gathering wildebeest throng on the plain below.

After following this trio for about 10 minutes in the vehicles, they decided it was time to stop, sit down and watch us.

this is a sketch about a cheetah study

I smell gazelle! Who says fast food is bad for your health?

This beautiful lady began to take notice of distant gazelles whilst her four (yes 4) 'teenage' cubs were snoozing in the nearby long grass as the sun rose.

My last photo of a day's game viewing in the Kruger Park - this cheetah looking into the setting sun.

Shot two weeks ago. Early morning in Tshukudu Park, a private park on the borders of Kruger Park SA.

On recent trip to Kenya, I watched this female Cheetah stalk a small group of Thompson Gazelle and then she was off like lightning in the chase. As you can see, she was successful in her hunt and on my web site ( http://www.djwimages.co.uk )are a few more images of her enjoying her prize!

This Cheetah was photgraphed in Masai Mara just after it had killed a Thomson's gazelle. You can see that the stomach is very streched out. Both hyenas, lions and leopards can take the kill away from the cheetah, so it must eat pretty fast.

This photo was taken yesterday at the South Lakes Wildlife Park in Cumbria.

Cheetah on Masai Mara October 2000. Olympus OM4-Ti, 500mm lens, Kodachrome 200.