Watch the unexpected moment a cheetah not only loses its food to vultures but then the vultures lose it to an opportunistic lion!
When vervet monkeys in the area start to alarm call, the rangers usually head to where the commotion is coming from, to see what might be the cause. This is when they get to see the best action that wildlife has to offer!
Last week, Brett Heasman, a ranger and guide from Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge, was lucky to capture this sighting on video. He caught up with LatestSightings.com and told us how he managed to find this sighting:
“It was an absolutely incredible weekend here at Sabi Sabi with alarm calls coming from an open area right in front of Bush Lodge. We followed the calls and scanned the area and noticed a cheetah in an open space, so we dashed off to see what he was up to.”
“We saw that it had managed to take down an impala and figured that this was probably why the alarm calls were so urgent. Looking a bit nervous, as cheetahs normally do before settling down to eat, the cheetah scanned the area for any possible scavengers that might interrupt his feast. After a few scans of the area, he finally got going and started feasting on his hard-earned meal.”
“Not long after the cheetah settled down, vultures started gathering around it in enormous numbers. Each time the cheetah lowered its head to take a bite, the vultures inched in closer and closer, almost circling the cheetah.”
“After a few attempts by the cheetah at scaring the vultures off, they finally managed to overpower the cheetah and took the impala for themselves.”
“We sat in awe, watching the vultures scurry and feast while the cheetah disappeared into the thicket. Within a few seconds, it was chaos, vultures were scattering in a panic and we could not understand what was happening.”
“Not even a minute later, a young male lion came rushing into view. He chased the vultures off and claimed the kill for himself!! This was incredible! What a war for a meal! The lion then dragged the kill off to some thick area where he spent the rest of the time finishing off the meal.”
“We managed to catch up with the cheetah who moved a little distance away and decided to rest after all the commotion.”