In a stunning display of maternal bravery, a mother cheetah in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve successfully chased off a male lion three times her size after he attempted to attack her cubs.
Photographer Kisemei Saruni, 35, captured the tense encounter from about 130 meters away. His dramatic images reveal the heart-pounding moment when the cheetah initially fled from the lion, only to swiftly change course and confront the predator, ultimately driving him away.
Saruni described the scene: “I was on a routine drive watching a leopard and her cubs when a male lion suddenly appeared from a nearby bush. He casually patrolled his territory when he spotted the cheetah and her cubs. The lion charged at the cubs, and at first, the cheetah ran away. But then she turned back and chased the lion off.”
Cheetah chases are typically brief, lasting less than a minute and covering about 200 to 300 meters. A cheetah can take three strides per second at full speed, with each stride spanning seven meters.
Female cheetahs are solitary by nature and usually raise their cubs alone, keeping them hidden in dens during the day and teaching them vital hunting skills as they grow.
This remarkable encounter underscores the fierce determination of a mother to protect her young in the wild.
Read more Wildlife News.