February 23, 2015
Lion Cubs, Cheetah Cubs, and Cheetah Kills, Ngorongoro Crater and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Here are four more favorite images from my recent photo safari to Tanzania. I had a blast photographing a Lion (Panthera leo) pride in Ngorongoro Crater that had a lot of playful cubs. In this image, one cub is practicing its prey take-down technique on another cub.

Another great set of subjects were the four Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) cubs in the Hidden Valley area of the southern Serengeti. In this image, two of the cubs are sparring with each other.

We had a fantastic morning with Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in the plains of the southern Serengeti. We watched two males, probably brothers, hunting and then give chase to a days-old Blue Wildebeest or Brindled Gnu (Connochaetes taurinus) calf. Before the lead cheetah got to what I thought was the intended prey, it took down a newborn calf that was probably less than two hours old. The second cheetah helped to kill the calf by pulling on its rear end, and the tug-of-war was amazing to watch and photograph!

We left the two males to their meal to go watch and photograph another cheetah chase and kill a days-old wildebeest calf.

We returned to the two male cheetahs in time to watch and photograph them chase and kill a days-old wildebeest calf. The kill did not go cleanly. After the cheetah that took down the calf thought the calf was dead, it rested a bit before dragging the calf into some thicker vegetation to hide it from competitors. While the cheetah was resting, I could see that the calf was still breathing and things would get interesting. After the cheetah started eating the hind quarters of the calf, the calf started bleating but the cheetah kept eating. After a minute or so, and about 20 minutes after the initial take down, the cheetah went back to strangling the calf which is when I made this image. After the calf was subdued again, the cheetah drug the calf further into thicker vegetation, and we left because it was unlikely that there would be any more photo ops. We learned later at camp that the calf was alive for about 40 minutes after the initial take down.