Tanzanian cheetah rests up in midday sun
A few facts about Cheetahs
Cheetahs were once shy and quite difficult to find, but are now an increasingly common sight, especially in many Kenya parks. Here they are almost completely habituated to the sight and sound of safari vehicles, and it is possible to drive to within just a few metres of them. Indeed, in the Maasai Mara reserve in Kenya, they will sometimes jump up onto the roofs of vehicles enabling them to gain a better view of their prey.
Their normal behaviour is to hunt in the cooler mornings and evenings and then conserve their energy by laying up in the shade in the middle of the day. Sadly, with the advent of radio communications, drivers can now call up other vehicles when they are spotted. This means cheetahs are often surrounded by huge numbers of vehicles in some parks.
They are also pursued by increasingly large groups of vehicles when trying to hunt and a significant number of hunts end up being unsuccessful – a tremendous waste of precious energy. In some parks they have even been forced to hunt in the hottest part of the day (when tourists tend to go for lunch and the park is at its quietest).
They are still one of Africa’s most iconic of species.
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