Cheetah 6533

Morning Hunt

     Cheetah are predators specialized for speed. With the ability to reach top speeds of around 60mph for short distances, photographing them during a chase is a challenge. Even more so when shooting against the morning sun. On the way back to camp, I came across a female cheetah stalking a gazelle further along the ridgeline above me. Knowing that I would have a very brief chance of capturing a chase event (if it happened at all), I moved ahead of her and waiting. One test exposure against the ridge and sun yielded and exposure of 1/2000s. Enough to stop any chase movement. The cheetah began her chase of the gazelle (off frame) before she drew even with me and the sun. The camera was set at 10 frames/second which was just enough to get a few exposures before the sun was no longer in the frame with her. The gazelle? It made good its escape even with a cheetah’s 40-50% success rate, which is rather good compared to most predators.