It was an uncharacteristically cold and rainy day in the Lowveld, and even though the weather resembled that of England rather than Africa, we went on a drive to look for some game, even bringing our cameras. The drive started slowly (animals generally are not keen on the cold, wet weather either), but eventually we came across two young lions at the edge of a dam.
Things where fast becoming interesting as we watched the event unfold unsureof what was going to happen. This is where our passion for wildlife really
comes peaks, seeing animals in unusual circumstances and watching it all
play out in front of your very eyes. We watched in anticipation…
The lion and cheetah soon get within a few meters of each other and the Cheetah
shows signs of submission, crouching he senses the danger of her younger, but
much stronger stranger. The larger of the two lions makes the first move.
She rushes in with a sudden burst of energy, showing her superior strength
and gives the Cheetah (and us) quite a fright. From the ground the cheetah
looks to be in trouble, but with a swift movement he swipes at the young
female lion taking her by surprise and highlighting her inexperience in such
conflicts.
Within a few clicks of the camera we spot the second, smaller lion who rushes
onto the scene to help his sister. Now the cheetah is outnumbered and
overpowered, seems like the only option here is to forget the fight and
consider flight.
We are still silently watching the scene unfold in front of us with open mouths and white knuckles.
The Cheetah has a moment of confidence (or madness) and stands his ground against the male cub, snarling and hissing.
The stand off lasts a few moments before the Cheetah puts on his running shoes and exits the scene with the lion hot on his heels but soon realises the game is over. The cheetah flees into the bush leaving the lions and us in his dust.
This all happened so fast and looking through the camera eyepiece, we found it hard to comprehend what actually happened till we looked at the images. Relieved that the confrontation turned out with no injuries, a good lesson was learnt by both cats. This experience also taught us a good lesson - always pick up your camera no matter what the conditions.