A Wish Come True - Cheetah Hunt at Masai Mara

The rolling grasslands dressed in a golden hue, swaying in the gentle breeze. Spread across the wide  expanse of the Savannahs, interspersed with a few Acacia trees.  This was the Masai Mara landscape, where we had already spent five days in September  of 2012.   

The wide expanse of Masai Mara grassland with a few Acacia trees at dusk.

We had seen an abundance of wildlife - lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, topis, gazelles, giraffes, white rhinos, hippos,  bat-eared foxes, hyenas, numerous birds of different colors, shapes, and sizes, the list could go on.   During our stay, we were also fortunate to see two cheetah hunts.   My first experience of such a hunt in the wild.  It was educative, exciting and exhilarating.

Cheetahs typically hunt gazelles, impalas, young wildebeest and zebras.  All these animals live in herds, and are on a constant look-out for any approaching danger.   Cheetahs often isolate their prey,  picking one of the younger beast in a herd, or one that has moved away from the herd.   Once the  prey is isolated,  it moves slowly, stealthily, towards the unsuspecting creature. When the cheetah is close enough, it sprints with lightening speed, trips the animal with it’s fore-paws and goes for the neck, biting firmly, not letting go  the struggling creature.

A small herd of Zebras.

Cheetahs have poor night vision.  They hunt by sight, not by smell. Therefore, unlike other big cats they are diurnal. They hunt early mornings or late afternoons, using  the usual hunting tricks of  hunters.   They move low in the grass, keeping themselves pretty well hidden.  Their colour and spots aid in camouflaging them well. Their approach is from downwind, to ensure the prey does not get their scent.   If they do, they are sure to bolt.  

Cheetahs look for mounds or small ant  hills  in the undulating terrain, to help them get better cover and viewing position, in their search for prey.  They are the fastest land animal, capable of short bursts of speed, reaching approximately 110 kmph in a few seconds.   They tire easily after a short run at such speeds, and have to rest after each chase.  Hence the need to get quite close to the prey.   Their success rate is one in every ten hunts. 

A cheetah's vantage point- a small mound from where she can survey the area searching for prey.

September 10, 2012 - It was our last day at Masai Mara.  What better way to say adios to the  beautiful Masai Mara, than to witness another hunt.  So boldly I told our guide,  “Hey,  Wilson, I want to see a cheetah hunt today.  Its   our last day at Mara, you know”.   He looked at me in disbelief, and said,  “You have seen two hunts already.  Most people are happy and lucky to see one”.   I smiled and replied,  “Well Wilson,  I really want to see another hunt, and I know you are going to show me one, before I leave”.   He smiled, but shook his head at my audacity.   I smiled back in hope, and let it pass.  We continued our safari.

A little while later, he called out  to our group:  “Look, look, there, a cheetah.”  Straining my eyes, I did see in the tall grass a small blur,  at a distance.   She was blending in so beautifully,  it was difficult to spot her at first.   Once spotted,  I kept  my eyes locked on her.

There in the distance, in the direction pointed out by our guide Wilson, I spotted a small blur.

She  was moving slowly, softly, stealthily, keeping herself well hidden in the tall grass.  We realized she was searching for prey.

Keeping herself well hidden in the tall grass, she was searching for prey.

From her vantage point, she spotted a lone gazelle. She was watching from a downwind position, and hence her scent did not carry. 

The gazelle was unaware she was being watched. 

The poor gazelle, looked around, but was unaware of the cheetah's presence.  She sat down to answer nature’s call.  After relieving herself, she moved away.

The unsuspecting gazelle sat down to answer nature's call ......

..... and having finished, slowly moved away.

The cheetah from her vantage point,  looked to the left, looked to   the right, surveying the area in preparation for her next move. 

The cheetah continued to survey the area, while keenly watching her prey ....

She moved forward, slowly and stealthily  getting closer and closer to her prey, all the time watchful of other predators.

.... slowly and stealthily she started moving forward, getting closer and closer.

Once she felt she was close enough, she sprung forward with lightening speed!

Once she felt she was close enough ....

With her   feet hardly   touching    the  ground,    running  with a burst of speed,   she reached the gazelle within striking distance, in less than a minute.

.... she sprung into action at lightening speed ....

.... she sprinted forward ....

.... with her feet hardly touching the ground.

 With a final leap, she captured the gazelle and dug her canines into the gazelle's neck. 

With a final lunge ....

I missed the shot when she first caught the gazelle.  It all happened so fast.  The speed, the excitement, the thrill of seeing my wish come true.

..... she grabbed the gazelle's neck and sunk her canines ..... 

Once she had captured her prey, she sat down and would not let go.  The hapless gazelle hung listless, her life slowly ebbing away.

.... gripping the neck tight, unwavering, till the gazelle's life ebbed away

Cheetahs are among the smallest of the big cats, and have to be wary of other bigger cats, relieving them of their kill.  Lions, leopards,  or even scavengers like the hyenas can rob them of their food.  Sometimes, cheetahs do not even wait for the  prey to be dead, before they start eating.   Once they finish eating, they do not go back to the kill.

Before feasting on her prize, seated she looks around ....

Before feasting on her prize, she is careful, and looks around to see if there are any predators around.

.... sits up and looks around ... 

....  sees a shrub near by ....

She sees a shrub nearby.  Not wanting to take a chance, decides to move her kill behind the shrub to provide some kind of a protection or hideout, before sitting down to enjoy her meal.

.... and decides to move her prize, before indulging herself.

My wish of witnessing another cheetah hunt before leaving Mara  came true.  When you really wish for something,  chances of that wish being granted are quite high!  

THE RIVER OTTER AND THE GREY HEADED FISH EAGLE

We can never know, when nature favours us with exciting and memorable moments in the wild.   It often happens when least expected.  Sharing with you one such experience. 

On a chilly morning, early in March 2012, five friends (Sandeep, Vimal, Arun, Meera  and me), were on a safari  in Kaziranga National Park, Assam.  A couple of hours had passed.  During this time, we had sighted many birds and beasts!  large and small!  Captured them on camera too.  Some species we sighted for the first time, while others were repeat sightings.  We were happy and content with both.

We continued our drive along the river.  After sometime, we stopped at a view point.  I wandered along the river bank.  In the distance, I spotted a dark brown blob on the small island in the river.

The brown blob on the island.

On closer look through my binoculars, I found it was a River Otter.  He stood up, looked around, probably to see if there was any danger lurking around.  He seemed satisfied.

Looking around to make sure it was safe to relax.

Soon he settled on the mud bank to soak in the morning sun.  Little did he or we know what was in store next. 

Time to relax and soak in the morning sun.

We continued sighting and  photographing other water birds around from different vantage points.  About ten minutes had passed.  Suddenly, the poor otter was jolted out of his reverie.  Looking up to see what had caused this panic, I got the answer.  He had spotted a Grey Headed Fish Eagle.

The alert otter spotted the eagle.

The eagle swooped down towards the otter. 

Quickly diving into the river ......

...... with a great big splash.

With a great big splash, the otter dived into the water as fast as his little legs could carry him . 

All the while his eyes  followed the movement and path of the eagle’s flight.  The eagle could not catch him. The eagle missed his meal, while the otter saved his life.

He watched with relief as the eagle flew away.  Little Otter had had a narrow escape!  

The otter watched as the eagle flew away.

The otter,  now ever alert, was watching the eagle, not letting down his guard even for a moment.  Down flew the eagle once again on the same flight path.

Fishing eagle with a huge fish

This time the eagle  was lucky.  No, no, he didn’t get the Otter for a meal.  The Otter had outwitted him.  His catch was a huge river fish, most likely a rohu.  

Clutching his prize in his strong claws, he flew with satisfaction,  looking for a place on the river bank.    He found one, settled down to devour his meal.

Looking for a spot to settle down ....

.... looks like he found a place to enjoy his catch.

It was high drama on the river bank, something that held us spell bound.  

We watched this whole drama unfold from the river bank from different vantage points on the river bank.   We were some distance away -  all this was happening mid river.  I could not capture clear images, but did manage to capture the essence of the moments witnessed.

(I have not been able to verify, if Grey Headed Fish Eagles eat River otters.  But from my point of view, to me it did look he was trying to hunt the otter for a meal.)