Botswana: Okavango Delta Cheetah Hunt

Story and pictures: David Chamberlain

GT, our expert Exquisite Safaris tracker kept pointing there! there! and I didn't see where! where, until the Toyota pulled up next to the termite hill. I was expecting to see something exciting while scanning at a distance of 200-300 meters distant.

The moment I rested my eyes and re-adjusted my position in the open air vehicle I happened to glance 6 feet to my left and noticed the first male cheetah. (OK, so I'm a little slow -nothing we all didn't know already).

His two partners sat on their own termite mounds at 50 and 75 meters distant. It was quite obvious they were interested in a large female Kudu 150 meters in the original direction of my focus -not the least bit distracted by us.

Gareth, our guide/driver told us to hold on tight, while GT gracefully entered the Toyota from his tracker chair on the front bumper. The second GT sat next to me in the rumble seat, the chase was on!

HOLD ON TIGHT there are no ROADS in SIGHT!

Three of the world's fastest animals weaving a course, tails rotating wildly in opposite direction, dirt, stones and bushes absorbing the thrust of 12 paws at full throttle; while the Toyota hurtling through meter high grass, was doing all it could to keep them in sight.

A quick chase to contact, 30-45 seconds as one Cheetah grabbed the Kudu's throat and the other two clamped their jaws on the thorax and hindquarter in the shadow of our vehicle, all involved hyperventilating madly in the Kudus final moment.

The excitement of a Cheetah hunt can never be forgotten; if you are lucky enough to witness one. Silence & concentration, stealth and speed; the brutal reality of witnessing survival of the fittest. A bit of over-stimulation at 7am to say the least.

Unfortunate as it may be for the Kudu, the experience of witnessing such a drama in one of the last remaining wild places on Earth is an African memory that will live with you forever.

In Africa, the quality of your guide is directly related to the quality of your luxury wilderness experience.

Exquisite Safaris Botswana delivers the highest standard of personal services in camp and on game drives. For example, it is not possible for a guide to drive through the bush, spot game effectively, and educate guests on what they are seeing simultaneously. Exquisite Safaris employs a tracker-driver team which greatly enhances your chances of enjoying the rare sequences of cheetah and wild dog hunts as well as other animals both big and small.

Thanks go out to GT our tracker and Gareth our driver/conservationist for locating and keeping us an eyewitness to this incredible Okavango Delta Cheetah Hunt drama!
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