04/11/2023
Despite the fact that only two out of 5 males remained in the coalition: Winda and Olonyok, we still call them Tano Bora, since this is the name of the largest coalition of cheetah males known in the Mara. The males are now 8.5 years old, which is a critical age as most males don’t reach the age of 4 years. Indeed, life in a group is beneficial to all its members, since the coalition is able to catch big game and share vigilance. However, with age, it becomes more difficult for males to bring down a large antelope, and there is not always enough strength for a long pursuit of medium-sized antelopes. Cheetahs are opportunistic hunters. Therefore, they do not miss the opportunity to catch a hare, fawn or a piglet of a Warthog. If the males are not very hungry, they share small prey, but if they haven’t eaten for a long time, then they eat their prey alone. In just one day, today, Tano Bora encountered a family of warthogs who stumbled upon resting males in a field and chased them twice. Soon after that, Winda caught a hare which he ate alone. It took brothers a few hours to locate appropriate prey, but when they toppled the adult male Topi (which took them 8 minutes from the moment of capture), the hyena appeared. And while Winda continued to choke the antelope, the hyena began to eat. The males remained with the kill, patiently waiting for the opportunity to eat, as they used to share the prey with the hyena before. Winda was the first to give up, while Olonyok made two attempts to get closer to the carcass, but both times he was driven away by uncompromising kleptoparasite. Winda immediately ran to help the brother. Life is certainly more valuable, and both males went into the shade, from where they watched their kill been consumed by over 15 hyenas. Life of cheetahs is full of challenges, and to remain granting the guests with great sightings of their hunts, courtships, marking territory and river crossings, they need more privacy and care than ever before.
