Incredible footage captures the moment a cheetah, a flock of vultures, and eventually a lion clashing over the same catch.
The cheetah had taken down an impala, and we see it begin eating its kill when the vultures arrive. After a short time, the cheetah gets scared away, and at first it is unclear why.
The vultures begin voraciously feeding when suddenly a lion arrives on the scene, reminding everyone why it’s called the King of the Jungle.
The video was captured by Brett Heasman, a ranger and guide from Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge. He told the story of how he managed to find this sighting:
“It was an absolutely incredible weekend here at Sabi Sabi with alarm calls coming from an open area right in front of Bush Lodge. We followed the calls and scanned the area and noticed a cheetah in an open space, so we dashed off to see what he was up to… We saw that it had managed to take down an impala…”
“Not long after the cheetah settled down, vultures started gathering around it in enormous numbers. Each time the cheetah lowered its head to take a bite, the vultures inched in closer and closer, almost circling the cheetah.”
“After a few attempts by the cheetah at scaring the vultures off, they finally managed to overpower the cheetah and took the impala for themselves.”
“We sat in awe, watching the vultures scurry and feast while the cheetah disappeared into the thicket. Within a few seconds, it was chaos, vultures were scattering in a panic and we could not understand what was happening.”
“Not even a minute later, a young male lion came rushing into view. He chased the vultures off and claimed the kill for himself!! This was incredible! What a war for a meal! The lion then dragged the kill off to some thick area where he spent the rest of the time finishing off the meal.”
“We managed to catch up with the cheetah who moved a little distance away and decided to rest after all the commotion.”