Watch this horrifying scene as a cheetah catches an impala that stumbled on the road, then the impala tries to flee while it is being eaten! The cheetah must then defend itself from vultures in the moments that follow.
Knowing that a few other Latest Sightings users are at the same sighting is always a nice feeling. Two days after this sighting was reported on our app, we received this amazing video from two members of the local community who were able to capture the exact same encounter on camera.
Adri van den Merwe, Rabbi Auerbach, and the Kiselstein Family all captured this action-packed encounter on film from two separate perspectives, and they all caught up with LatestSightings.com to share their own reactions to this traumatic occurrence:
When the action began, Eliezer, 45, and Adri, a 26-year-old financial counselor and entrepreneur, were both on the H4-2 and moving in separate directions. They were about 10 kilometers from Crocodile Bridge Gate.
The Kiselstein Family and Rabbi Auerbach were the first people to reach the sighting and report it. We observed a cheetah laying at the side of the road while returning from Skukuza and headed toward Crocodile Bridge. We decided to wait and see what would happen.
“Since this was where the service was strongest and my son had a Zoom lesson, we opted to wait there for around 35 minutes. We were aware of the impala off in the distance grazing next to the road as the cheetah began stalking and prepared to hunt. The action was quick to follow!”
We’ve been visiting Kruger Park for over 32 years, and this is the first time we’ve witnessed a successful kill like this! As the event took place, we were ecstatic and fortunate to have footage of it all. Nearly two hours later, when the vultures had almost completely consumed the cheetah’s food, we stayed.
This is a witness to the miracles of the creator, Rabbi Auerbach also wished to say at the conclusion. G-d provides for the cheetah and the vultures, and he most definitely provides for you too! Psalms 145:16 says, “You open your hands and satisfy the needs of all the living.”
Adri arrived at the sighting barely in time to miss the chase as the cheetah was dragging the impala off the road and smothering it. “The cheetah began consuming the impala, which was still very much alive at the time. When the vultures began circling above and slowly descended to the ground one by one before combining into a group and flying toward the kill as a group, we could see the impala still trying to flee while it was being eaten.
The cheetah appeared to strive to take quick nibbles as though it understood that it wouldn’t have its meal to itself for long because it was aware of the vultures. As they got closer and closer, the vultures eventually chased the cheetah away and began consuming the impala. The carcass had almost no meat left on it after a few minutes.
When I watched the impala kicking while the cheetah was munching on it, I actually started crying. I had mixed emotions about the experience. Even though it was tragic, it’s just how nature works, and I had to constantly remind myself of that following the sighting. I felt sorry for the unfortunate cheetah when the vultures chased it away since it had worked so hard to make the kill, and then it was gone. The vultures consumed the entire cadaver’ meat before a hyena came and grabbed what was remained of it, leaving the cheetah to simply stroll away and vanish into the bushes.
Watching the lappet-faced vulture take the entire carcass for himself by using his size and strength in opposition to all the other vultures is equally intriguing.