“Last year I saw a cheetah kill in these plains...” These we my words to my guests while we drove past one of our open plains. I had flashbacks of a male cheetah catching a newborn impala and parading the plains while he had it between his jaws by its scruff. Then suddenly our tracker, Sam, raised his hand for me to stop the vehicle; he pointed at the distant impalas. This was my and Sam’s third drive with our guests and I was wondering why Sam seemed so excited by impala. Upon looking at them through my binoculars, I realised they were still and had their focus on something. We followed their line of vision and saw the cause of their attention. Three cheetah lay on top of a termite mound scanning the plains for potential prey.

We made our way towards the seemingly relaxed female and her cubs. As we approached, the female got up and gave us a yawn and stretched. Before we knew she was off but interestingly away from the impala. The two cubs followed from a distance and used a fallen tree as a vantage point.

We decided to stay with the cubs and after a few minutes heard the distant alarm calls of impala. We figured the female had failed at her attempt to hunt. As we were about to leave, Sam spotted the mother rushing back to her cubs with what seemed to be a baby impala in her jaws! We followed her as she made a beeline straight to her furry bundles. As she put down the tiny impala in front of her cubs, we realised it was still alive...

Wide eyed and speechless, I realised we were about to witness something most people dream to see. Probably the most important lesson for her offspring - how to hunt.

We watched as we in awe as the cubs toyed with the helpless impala. Seems cruel but it is a necessary evil for the future of the cheetahs.