Sometimes, nature is not for the fainthearted. It can all seem so cruel how predators eat their prey, but nature is nature and it doesn’t have feelings.
Sometimes, nature is not for the fainthearted. It can all seem so cruel how predators eat their prey, but nature is nature and it doesn’t have feelings. Animals need to survive. This sighting of the cheetah and hyena eating the impala is the epitome of this.
Alistair Leuner, 33 year-old general manager at Tintswalo Safari Lodge in the Manyeleti Game Reserve, filmed this incredible sighting while out on drive with some guests.
Alistair explains the sighting to LatestSightings.com: “I went out on drive with my guests and we were sitting in a sighting with a female leopard when we heard a nearby herd of impala alarm calling.
We drove in the direction of the alarm calls, which was about 500m away from the leopard. We found 2 cheetahs watching the impala.”
“After sitting with the hunting cheetahs, they suddenly both started chasing an impala for about 200m and managed to catch it! While the cheetah tried to kill the impala, the one even starting to eat it alive, 4 hyenas came and stole the impala and also started feeding on it while it was still alive.”
“It was an action packed and exhilarating experience. Although difficult to watch the impala being eaten alive, it was a once in a lifetime sighting we could not tear our eyes away from.”
“By the end of the sighting, the hyenas won and there was no sign of niether the impala not the cheetah.
I have been guiding for 15 years and have never seen something like this!
My advice to anyone who experiences something like this, even though it is harsh for most, is to absorb every moment of it!”