Watch the video here:
No guarantees in Nature
Cheetahs are the world’s fastest land mammals. So you’d be forgiven for thinking that few prey species would escape them.
More so, if two of them are involved. However, as this video shows, hunting success is seldom guaranteed.
Cameron Schmidt submitted this dramatic footage to Latest Sightings. He filmed it while on a game drive at South Africa’s Pumba Private Game Reserve
Blitz attack launched
As Cameron’s video begins, we see a cheetah burst from cover. It appears that the cheetah had used the raised road to shield its initial stalk, bringing it within striking distance of an unseen target.
Cheetahs can accelerate to a top speed exceeding 100 km/h (70 mph) in a couple of seconds. Accordingly, when its target, a herd of blesbuck, sees it streaking towards them, they scatter in panic.
Isolated
While most of the antelope veer to the left, one dashes to the right. In the process, it isolates itself and becomes the cheetah’s chosen target.
Blesbuck are also fast, capable of running at 70–80 km/h (43–50 mph). However, as you’d expect, the cheetah is right on its tail, waiting for the perfect moment to grab its prey.
On several occasions, the predator attempts to sink its claws into the fleeing antelope. However, somehow, the buck manages to shake it off.
Timely intervention
At this point, the chase is on a knife-edge. As fast as they are, cheetahs cannot sustain high-speed pursuit for more than 400 metres.
However, when a second cheetah moves in to intercept the antelope, the race suddenly swings in the cats’ favour.
The fight is on
With its escape routes blocked, the blesbuck is soon set upon by the cheetahs. While one attempts to bite its throat, the other holds onto the hindquarters, making it difficult to escape.
Blesbuck are physically larger than cheetah and have more stamina. Therefore, the cat must cut off its air supply to weaken it as soon as possible.
Get our Best Sightings as they Come in
Bucking bronco
Desperate for survival, the antelope bucks and kicks, doing everything in its power to escape. Meanwhile, the cheetahs are having a hard time subduing it.
It’s around this time that we hear Cameron speculate that the antelope might just manage to get away. He can see that they are tiring, while the blesbuck is full of fight.
Good call
Moments later, the feisty antelope proves him right. As one of the cheetahs pauses momentarily to catch its breath, the antelope seizes the opportunity.
With a desperate lunge, it breaks free of the other cheetahs’ clutches, narrowly avoiding its slashing claws. In a battle of centimetres, it is winning by millimetres.
Subsequently, as the pair of predators tries desperately to grab it, the fleeing antelope kicks out with its hind legs. By doing so, it starts opening up a gap between itself and the two tiring cats.
Likely fueled with adrenaline, it is now the besbuck’s chance to outpace the cheetahs. Visibly tiring, the cats soon give up.
Consequently, as the video ends, we see the antelope sprinting to freedom, hopefully not too badly injured after the close encounter with death.
