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 The Five Boys | |
Taken with the Canon 7D mk2, and a mix of the Canon 500 f/4 mk2, Canon 300 f/2.8 mk1, Canon 70-200 f/2.8 mk2, and Canon 17-40 f/4.
Most of the following occurred on Aug 26, 2017 in Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Aug 22, 2017, Nairobi National Park
One evening in Nairobi while having dinner with the owner of my lodge at the edge of Nairobi National Park and while being harassed by two genets...
... the owner told me about a trip he took to the Maasai Mara a month earlier. He said that he encountered a coalition of five cheetahs in the Maasai Mara. Adult female cheetahs are solitary. But male cheetahs often form coalitions after they are weaned from their mother. Usually the coalitions consist of brothers. Coalitions of two or three are not uncommon. A coalition of four is rare. A coalition of five cheetahs is unheard of.
Several days later while staying in Naboisho Conservancy, I tell my guide that while in Nairobi, I had heard about five males cheetahs in the Mara. My guide knew of them. They were first sighted in Naboisho Mara in February 2017. They remained together and mostly resided in Naboisho until June when they disappeared. For several weeks after that, the Five Boys were spotted a few times passing through a few local communities between Naboisho and the Mara. And at their own peril, they were picking off some livestock along the way. In early July they were first spotted in the Maasai Mara National Reserve where they have since taken up residence; coincident with the arrive of the Great Migration.
I was hesitant to go to the Mara because of the potential for very crowded sightings. In the past I've seen sightings in the Mara where there were so many vehicles at a sighting that I thought the resulting pressure on the animals was terrible and inexcusable.
But the continuing thought of potentially seeing five cheetahs together continued to tempt me; never-minding the additional thought, however remote, of perhaps seeing them hunting.
Aug 26, 2017, Maasai Mara National Reserve
So on my final day at Naboisho Conservancy, we leave camp extremely early, in the dark, and drive to the Maasai Mara with the plan to arrive at sunrise in the hopes of finding The Five Boys before traffic starts to pick up.
It's only 7:19 am. A mere fifteen minutes after crossing the northeastern edge of the Reserve, we can hardly believe our eyes. We spot three adult cheetahs cresting a hill! Then a fourth appears.
No.... it's five! Five adult cheetahs together. It's them.... it's The Five Boys!!!
We're still near the northeastern edge of the Reserve. Still too early for people in the Reserve to have made it this far yet.
My guide tells me that this coalition of five is actually a coalition of three bothers, and another coalition of two brothers that for some reason decided to join forces. Since joining together in February they have been inseparable.
Some of the boys are rambunctious.
Chasing each other through and around the bushes at the top of the hill.
The play is brief. The Five Boys soon start to head down the hill.
There is scattered game in the area, but the cheetahs are not interested in them. They ignore them and keep walking down the hill.
There are several large herds of wildebeest on the next plains across from the gully at the bottom of the hill. They're quite a distance away but the still the Five Boys seem to be watching them.
The wooded gully at the bottom of the hill is too thick to drive through. We'll have to backtrack and cut across using the road.
We're now on the other side of the gully. We scan the bush line looking for the cheetahs.
After a few minutes, we notice some of the wildebeest looking into the bushes. The cheetahs are there. A few minutes later, a hyena walks along the bush line where the cheetahs are. This could spoil everything. Hyenas will sometimes follow cheetahs to steal their kills. Cheetahs know this. So if the cheetahs see that hyenas are following them, they will often give up their hunting until the hyenas go away.
Once the hyena disappears and all the wildebeest have walked by, the cheetahs get up and walk the edge of the bush line following the wildebeest.
8:04 am and we're finally spotted by someone else. A NatGeo film crew has spotted us with the Five Boys and are racing along the far hill to cross the gully and join us.
Watching and slowly advancing.
Oh my goodness :-)
The Five Boys continue on with seeming purpose.
There is a large wildebeest herd across the plain ahead. The boys see it...
After only five minutes of watching the wildebeest herd from the cover of the brushline, the cheetahs just start walking out onto the plain.
All five are coming.
They start to spread out as they advance on the wildebeest. This could be it. We drive around to the other side of the herd.
They continue to spread out as they close the gap. The other two are to the left and right of these middle three. Oh my.
The cheetahs continue to advance as they survey the herd. We're now parked for the duration of whatever happens so we don't interfere with anything.
The atmosphere is now electric with anticipation. Still coming... still coming... closer... closer...
Suddenly the wildebeest herd stampedes.
The cheetahs are still walking in. Patience... patience... The air now thunders with the hooves of countless wildebeest on top of their honking and the braying of the zebras.
It's difficult to tell which cheetah to track. They're coming in from different positions at the same time. The wildebeest seem confused and don't know which direction to run. One of the cheetahs picks up speed and starts to jog in.
The Five Boys are working together to cause panic and split the herd.
The atmosphere is electric.
Each cheetah is searching for a target.
The scene is surreal.
The pace is quickening. These boys are determined. Which one to watch? Which one to watch?
One of the cheetahs seems to have locked on to a particular wildebeest.
In an instant he accelerates to full speed!
Cheetahs can accelerate from 0-60 mph in a blazing three seconds flat, or a mere three strides.
Wow!!!
The dirt flies as the cheetah races in and the hooves scramble to get away.
The cheetah disappears behind a group of wildebeest.
There he is... normally cheetahs trip their prey. This boy tackles a young wildebeest from behind.
The wildebeest does not go down. The cheetah struggles to hang on as a second cheetah sees what's going on and races in to help.
The cheetah is trying to drag it down.
The second cheetah jumps on the back of the wildebeest from behind. Now it's two on one.
The two cheetahs work to bring the young wildebeest down. Incredibly, the wildebeest is still standing and tries to throw the cheetahs.
One of the boys gets a good hold of the head.
Even as the wildebeest is going down, one of the cheetahs already has a grip on the throat and starts to suffocate it.
Within moments a third cheetah is there. The remaining two of the Five Boys have also seen the attack and are on their way to help. With multiple cheetahs there, any thought of a rescue attempt by nearby wildebeests is dashed. They back off.
While the first cheetah continues to suffocate the wildebeest, the other cheetahs are on the lookout for other predators. The spectacle and sound of the panicked heard and the racing cheetahs are bound to bring in other predators such as hyena and lions, who frequently try to steal cheetah kills.
The fourth cheetah arrives. The first is still working to suffocate the wildebeest.
The last of the Five Boys arrives and checks over his shoulder for potential danger.
The Five Boys with their kill.
The Five Boys waste no time. Cheetahs are built for speed. They are not particularly strong and are not able to protect their kills from other top predators such as lions and hyena. If confronted, they will give up their kill rather than risk being injured. If a cheetah becomes injured and cannot hunt, it is not likely to survive.
The Five Boys keep checking their surroundings as they eat.
31 minutes later, there is nothing edible left. The cheetahs leave the remains.
The Five Boys continue to prowl the plains of the Maasai Mara.
Such an amazing and rare sight to see a coalition of five cheetahs roaming the plains together.
The cheetahs pass our vehicle one last time...
... and head into thick brush near the border of the Maasai Mara and one of the Conservancy areas. We cannot follow any further. We bid farewell to the Five Boys.
It's only 9:32 am. After a phenomenally exciting and heart-stopping morning, we still have the entire day ahead to explore the Masaai Mara. 
And to think that I almost passed on a day in the Mara! 
Cheers,
Hobbes
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