Cheetahs - Africa's Fastest Hunters | Free Documentary Nature

high-speed

hunters

of the savannah, few dare to capture larger prey, but then a group emerges that turns all concepts upside down. Five males join together and become the antelope's worst nightmare. This coalition enjoys completely new possibilities but also they have to face unexpected conflicts The northern Serengeti is home to around 100

cheetahs

. They share this habitat with countless antelopes and provide fascinating new information about the way the slender

hunters

live. Let's follow some of them and experience their fight for survival. A young female has hidden her four cubs in a bush. They are only a few days old and are completely helpless in these first weeks the mother cannot leave them alone for longer periods another family is resting nearby the experienced female has raised many young her two children are almost adults and can soon take care of themselves They are well fed and play with self-confidence.

Many challenges await you. Daily training is essential. They will have to fight many battles to eventually secure a personal territory a few dozen kilometers away. An unusual concentration of

cheetahs

. Five males, the largest coalition. Sometimes brothers have normally been seen forming alliances to defend the territory, from time to time they are joined by solitary cats and sometimes three cats calling a territory theirs, five males are a novelty even for scientists; They were seen together for the first time at the end of 2016. They are two strong ones. mavericks and three younger males from two different brothers, quite a wild mix, but this coalition raises questions as it contradicts everything we have learned about cheetahs, why did the strong males accept the three young ones as mates?

The weaker animals are usually attacked and chased away, perhaps the five were gathered when the two older ones did not yet have their own territory which would explain why they did not show any aggressive defense behavior the beginners are not necessarily a reinforcement certainly there is no lack of commitment with impatience one of the new ones prepares for the hunt, but at the decisive moment he does not dare to go all the way, which means that lunch is off the itinerary. Promising opportunities like these should never be missed. This seems to be a sitting duck once again.

One of the young males is impatient. It starts from a great distance the topi calf is only a few days old and is not a challenge but the wildebeests disturb him it takes too long to pass them the mother intervenes at the last moment the result five hungry hunters would not have been a problem for an experienced trickster their fusion continues Being a mystery, just as strange is the fact that they still remain together the mother with the four babies has abandoned her hiding place in the bush like all female cheetahs roam

free

ly without territory always behind their prey the first days on the move The movements from one place to another are very tiring for the little ones, you have to be very careful with the puppies, however, no attention is paid to the innumerable dangers of the savanna.

The female cheetah has to produce a lot of milk and that is why she is almost always hungry. It's not easy she goes hunting with babies next to her. She also searches for food the next day, but she is not the only hunter in the area. There are dense bushes in front of the Cheetos. It is difficult to get through the camps. She carefully gathers the area because she fears surprises may lurk. The lioness has discovered that the young carnivores in the family show no mercy to each other. For the lioness, it would be an opportunity to get rid of future competition.

In her desperation, the mother tries to distract the attacker. Her courage and commitment give the cubs precious seconds that she dedicates all of her life to. the afternoon looking for her little ones they got lost or the lioness managed to take hold of some of them only one resurfaces the lioness was successful to the extent that she was able to harm a rival ah the two children of the old female have already gone Through this critical phase, But even adult cheaters should avoid encounters with lions. The family has other concerns. They need food. Thompson gazelles are welcome prey for cheaters.

However, the female hesitates. Her age has crept up on him in open terrain. has no chance of reaching the gazelles with a little luck, she can sometimes get close enough to the gazelles without cover before they realize the danger, she leaves and actually successfully closes the distance until the gazelles react. Now it's as wide a race as the Thompson gazelles can make it. They move almost as fast as cheetahs in the field. Cheetahs rarely run more than 70 kilometers per hour in open fields like this, they can reach 90 kilometers per hour, just like gazelles. The mother feels worse later in life. age of 12 years.

On the other hand, hunting the beast is not just about speed, but the heavy animals are tough opponents, they can only take down the cubs and this is a task that only a few female cheetahs take on, but this one does it. over time, in which she has become a specialist. Wildebeest waits patiently until the herd approaches to meet its family. The wildebeest are unaware of the danger until the last moment, but for the experienced female it is no walk in the park, as the calf weighs as much as the attacker and the pointed horns can be lethal the offspring have great respect for prey like this they become useful by keeping the other wildebeest busy while the females wander around chasing their prey the adult males try to settle down and conquer our territory the coalition, on the other hand, doesn't even do so In their attempt to settle during their first months together, they traversed an enormous area, much larger than previously assumed when examining the groups.

The males also have a problem with the fast Thompson gazelles. They are larger and heavier than females and therefore slower. Their target is also the wildebeest. the cows the fawns gazelle should hide yet they cannot run fast enough and they crouch discreetly the cheetah sees the right moment but the adult antelopes skillfully protect the calf his colleague has discovered something completely different the attack on the injured man startled a little the hunters seem They are doing everything possible not to cause any harm They play with the small gazelle as if it were a toy The older animals do not worry about this For beginners it is a good opportunity to gain more confidence in handling rival prey The males do not have any possibility against this coalition, so for a long time they were able to move as they wanted without settling in the meantime, however, they are concentrating on the northern area of ​​the Masai Mara reserve, here they claim a territory of more than 400 square kilometers. four times larger than any other in the south of the south obtaining a vast territory like this has many advantages when it comes to prey you will rarely have to go hungry hunters can approach without cover the wildebeest do not recognize them as a danger as few tricksters do They would try their luck against the adult antelopes, however, the cats are making the herd nervous, chaos soon breaks out, some calves lose contact with their mothers, this is what they were waiting for, while the five have made great progress, even the youngest ones now dare.

To confront the calves a bite to the throat closes the hunt, but this is still the job of experienced cats. Soon it will be time for the old female to say goodbye to her two children, meanwhile the cubs are 18 months old and still have a lot to learn. That's why the female now leaves most of the hunting to them. They enthusiastically get to work, but stalking is not as simple as it seems. They no longer lack speed, but making the decisive leap over their prey is another story. Cheetahs hunt at all hours of the day. at lunch time also when the opportunity presents itself but it is much nicer in the shade but anyway the zebras would be too ambitious the two stallions are arguing over a mayor the zebras have no obvious weapons but their bites and kicks can cause injury serious to the young cheetahs it is a great fascinating sight to watch the experienced female has chosen a good place to take some time she knows that the herds often travel through the valley and head here when they are thirsty, as expected, there are cows in the herd his students are committed to what they do and once again he lets his calves take the lead, a challenging task for beginners who would normally practice with much smaller gazelles.

The sands managed to surprise the antelopes. Unfortunately, they chose two different offspring. One of the two loses sight of the prey in the bush. The mother arrives too late to intervene. The second still has a chance but doubts at the decisive moment. The result of the hunt is favorable to the calf. In the afternoon, a strong storm arose. so the two cheetahs don't worry about the rain in In fact, they seem to be enjoying the flooded terrain, but then it becomes a little too good with so much water. Ungulates seek higher ground when the rain eases.

The young people seem much more animated. Mother doesn't have time for games, but this. At night it certainly seems more adventurous than usual the herd is still far away but in the rain the anglers cannot hear very well this is a decisive advantage that the experienced hunter takes advantage of for herself, which is why the wildebeests want to leave the wet valley where I have not yet noticed the proximity of the cats when they realize the danger, it is already too late. The female takes the initiative. This is not something for beginners. Her children do everything they can to support her, but the mother wildebeest is not discouraged and returns to her.

Calm, she does not dare to attack the cat, but her presence was enough. The hunter retreats and the calf

free

s herself for the moment, being completely stunned. A few seconds pass before the calf regains her senses, but now the hunter reacts with fierce determination, so then um. The heavy rain caused the rivers to rise a lot in just a few hours. This is an unexpected obstacle for the group. Until now, there was nothing more than a thread here. Many times they have crossed the river with dry legs. They did not expect masses of people. In waters like this, They are restless, so they don't know what is hiding in the raging river, but they have to get to the other side to move forward.

Cheaters aren't exactly born swimmers. One of the big males goes fast, so the others follow. Their union is stronger. In addition to their fear, the latter makes the other side more or less dry in the afternoon, they have already come a long way for this group, having a large territory is not only full of advantages when the females are ready to mate. They move to territories that have been intensely marked by males. These males do not have such a clearly advertised meeting place because their markings are spread over a large area. They can mate with all the females they find, but first they have to find them on their patrol.

They inspect hundreds of marker trees and leave their own messages. Although they try hard, their success rate when it comes to getting partners is not very high. , are opening more and more hunting grounds where their prey does not even expect them to be. in the distance the clever thompson gazelles have discovered the cats on alert they have nothing to fear one of the answers can't resist at least the opportunity to shake them a little but that's already resolved the issues also feel safe they can't keep up with the pace of cheaters, but light hunters rarely dare even consider such large animals, calves are well guarded in the open terrain from where they can detect threats from great distances, but antelopes do not face solitary animals but to five completely adult males the ball is alone and totally relaxed so they did not expect such fierce resistance his sharp horns are dangerously close out of breath the bull cannot take advantage of his last opportunity the combined weight of the five keeps him down and prevents more cheaters escape they do not have particularly long or strong teeth to inflict serious wounds so they must exhaust their prey once again it is the two strong males who decide the outcome of the fight under the throat they bite the bull loses consciousness completely exhausted they seek shade but success like this gives them even more confidence the female that was ambushed by the lioness is now alone very small cubs are often abandoned without offspring female cheetahs are ready to mate every two to three weeks she wants a new litter to raise as many calves as possible The wildebeest puddles follow her out of curiosity they have nothing to fear from individual tricksters the five males have found her trail carefully they search her resting place and then follow her tracks it takes almost the entire day to find the female the next morning the encounter seems sinister the males try to intimidate her she is not at all impressed and defends herself as best she can the cats also have differences of opinion about who can approach the female and who cannot after the initial excitement they control their smell intenselydetermine their willingness to mate, despite how inexperienced they are, they seem unsure of what to do next.

The female has been waiting for a moment like this and tries to flee, but she is quickly surrounded again on all sides and literally has her back turned to the wall cheetah's mating behavior can seem quite harsh. The suits demonstrate their strengths to the females. Competition is much fiercer among the five than in smaller groups, so it is not just the female who defends herself, the males themselves are mainly busy with each other. They lose a lot of fear on days like these but this is not the most frustrating thing they just don't want to realize that they are whipping a dead horse the female is not yet able to conceive the noisy party has attracted an unpleasant neighbor normally they would just give in now the The cats are so enraged that they would even growl at a buffalo, which of course does not seem funny.

In the end they all leave frustrated. The experienced children of the cheetah are still far from adventures like this. They continue to practice their hunting techniques and gain a lot of valuable experience every day. , like how to deal with wild boars, a piglet can be a tasty morsel, but it is not wise to play with his adult mother, they start optimistically, an unpleasant surprise, the angry mother turns the tables, he has to be careful. so that he gets out of this situation unscathed by doing so he keeps the path clear for his brother he can pass by the other wild boars without them noticing while he has to worry about his health shows what he has learned so far the rest is now routine tactically they have played well with the wild boars, so huge herds of wildebeest have been gathering for days in a wide bend of the river in the morning optimism is in the air the gathering has not escaped the cheetahs hmm the trees on the banks of the river are an ideal source of food for the imperturbable giraffes they simply make their way through the center of the herd the antelope's objective is another they just want to cross the river the water is not very deep it seems like a good place but on the opposite side the traffic accumulates the The last few meters descend sharply, there is no possibility of moving forward from here in a short time.

The river bed is full of wildebeest. More and more animals turn around and climb the steep wall where they have just arrived. Just above the exhausted antelopes have to take a respite, cheaters also lose track. From one side to the other, the two big cats leave their hiding place and directly attack a wildebeest bull. Hey, the other cheetahs are surprised, they can't make out anything. Panic spreads among the ungulates. Giraffes get nervous too. A kick like this can easily crush. a skull in the bushes the wildebeest cannot see what has happened they can only hear the noise and feel the fear of the herd now the cavalry arrives in the form of the other cheetahs and they need them urgently their victim is a completely adult ball with its At 200 kilograms, it is four times the size of a cheetah and is trying its best to save its life.

The giraffes try to escape from the chaos. The pushes make them uneasy as they are not particularly agile. The only thing they want is to leave the crowd behind, the hunter who attacked. first he is panting and resting the others will have to do without him for a while they have never faced an adult bull before and soon reached their limits they finally managed to administer the decisive bite the wildebeest gradually loses consciousness they have finally made him a sworn alliance of Determined warriors, all for one and one for all, although they row with each other from time to time, if kept healthy, they could rule the planes of the northern serengeti for many years, no other cheetah would. they will have a chance for the old woman's children this does not bode well they will have to fight away for a place in the cheetah society the five have opened a new chapter on cheaters but it remains to be seen if they really benefit from this The union, it is That is to say, if they all reproduce more frequently than other cheaters, being in the shadow of this powerful coalition makes life difficult for all the other men in the region, after all, the two brothers are better off together than having to make their way alone and perhaps find a partner who will support their brotherhood to overcome the enormous challenges that the foreign savannah demands of them.