April 4, 2025
The male coalition provides many benefits to all its members, including establishing territory and preying on large ungulates. Our long-term observations in the Mara show that by the age of 6, coalitions lose at least one member. At that point, the remaining male becomes a floater. Rosetta’s sons, Ruka and Rafiki, were no exception: Rafiki went missing last May while the brothers were in Tanzania.
Born in the reserve and raised on the border with Tanzania and in the Serengeti, after being separated from their mother in 2020, Ruka, Rafiki and their sister Risasi crossed the Mara River and began exploring the Triangle and northern Serengeti.
Since Ruka was left alone, he crossed the river back to the reserve and now travels through the Mara ecosystem. His habitat covers the reserve and four conservancies on the north-east side of the Mara. Whereas before he and his brother would bring down an adult Topi, now Ruka has to hunt medium and small ungulates.
In open spaces, where there is nowhere to hide from the eyes of vigilant antelopes, the cheetah tries to press himself as close to the ground as possible and patiently wait for hours until the antelopes come close. It is important for a cheetah to have enough space in front of it to chase. While observing the prey, the cheetah studies the situation. If objects remain motionless for a long time, the cheetah will calculate the trajectory of its possible movement. Unfortunately, cars cannot remain motionless for very long, so cheetahs often have to wait a very long time before deciding to chase.
At the same time, in open spaces, there is a very high probability of losing the prey to competitors – lions and hyenas. This happened tonight, when Ruka finally managed to catch sub-adult Thomson’s gazelle. The hyena saw the chase from afar and hurried to seize the prey. Life alone is full of challenges, but 6,5-year-old Ruka is at the age when his strength, experience and skills help in the most difficult situations.
