The Cheetah on the early morning drive. . . . . . . .

Elegant and graceful, smaller that the other two African big cats, but by far the fastest,

the cheetah is built for speed at a short distance of about 100 yards.

With long, slim muscular legs, a small head (the black tear-stripes on the face

 thought to be for anti-glare during daytime hunting), and special pads on the feet

 for traction, this somewhat secretive and beautiful cat is found on open and 

partially open savannas.

Here the cheetah marked its territory by spraying the tree trunk prior to sitting

 down and cautiously eying the herd of grazing wildebeest.

He took his time - we sat patiently in the vehicle, happy that no other safari

 vehicles had arrived to clutter up the stunningly beautiful, peaceful and

 silent landscape.

A solitary animal with a lifespan of 10-20 years, the male will sometimes accompany

 a female for a short time after mating, but then she is left to raise her cubs, 

usually two to four, alone. 

The cheetah hunts during daylight, either early morning or early evening,

 but is also active on moonlit nights. Cheetahs do not roar, they purr, hiss, whine

 and growl - and their contact sound is similar to a bird chirp.

Between the above and below photos, the cheetah RAN. . . . . . . jumped

 on a young wildebeest and brought it to the ground.  With a point and shoot

 camera there was no way I could get that shot!

The cheetah can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 3 seconds and then reach top

speed of about 75 mph as it takes down its prey.

Holding on to the neck of the wildebeest, the cat holds it down with its paws, 

biting its neck to suffocate it. They mostly prey on smaller antelopes such as
 impala and Thompson gazelles but, as proven here, also take down wildebeest,
 sometimes zebras.

The kill is eaten quickly before scavengers such as lions, leopards, hyenas, 

vultures and jackals can steal it away.

This was just one of many exciting happenings on our first morning game drive

 on the Maasai Mara. I know nature can appear as sad and raw, and some of you

 may prefer not to see the gritty side of a safari.

 But it is nature, and this is the way the animals - too many of whom are on 

the endangered list from poaching by humans - survive in the wild.

Saving these magnificent creatures is so important, and they need to 

be here in their true wild homes, living as wild creatures do, not in captivity.