Amazingly Clever Cheetah Mother Chases Down a Gazelle to Feed Her Cubs

Mama Cheetah Shows Off Her Smarts Along With Her Speed to Feed Her Cubs!

In the exhilarating video at the top of this page, the smarts of a mother cheetah are shown to match her incredible speed! As we begin following the mother cheetah, her musculature and focus are on high display. She keeps herself low, sneaking through tall grass as she stalks her prey through the savannah. The gazelle being stalked has no clue that she’s getting tracked down, lifting her head to scan the area around her. But even when it seemingly looks directly at the cheetah, the crouching cat stays undetected. Finally, the cheetah figures that she’s close enough and sets off in a full sprint. 

The cheetah explodes into a sprint, that even in slow motion is nearly impossible to believe. The gazelle starts its escape as soon as the cheetah makes its move, but the cheetah seems to keep running at the same spot. Before long the reason is revealed: a baby gazelle, now alone and abandoned by its mother! Though the fawn could never hope to outrun a cheetah, the poor thing doesn’t exactly help itself. The tiny baby trips over itself and its hind legs can be seen flying into the air. The cheetah arrives on the scene, but instead of pouncing on the defenseless baby, she lets it get up.

Planning a Plot to Get a Two-for-One Deal for Her Meal!

All credit has to go to the survival spirit of the gazelle fawn, as it gets up and makes another attempt to escape. But the fight is already lost, and the cheetah effortlessly sets upon it once more. Rather than killing the fawn right away though, the mother cheetah knows that the mother gazelle can’t fight her maternal instinct. So the cheetah captures the fawn, and the mother gazelle simply has to run back to check on her baby. The cheetah has had time to catch its breath by now, and suddenly launches out after the mother as well! 

The gazelle does its best to run away, but the cheetah planned it all perfectly. Catching up to and tackling the gazelle, unlike with the fawn the mother cheetah doesn’t waste an instant. Chomping down on the gazelle’s neck, it slowly suffocates to the cheetah’s strong jaws. Then the cheetah begins scanning the area, before a few tiny cubs emerge from the grass. The cubs want to start eating right away, but their brilliant mother knows better. Dragging the gazelle into an enclosed wooded area, the cubs are safe to dig in!

Cheetah’s and Their Incredible Running Form!

The climax of the action in the video at the top of the page highlights the running form of the cheetah in full detail. The front legs of the cheetah dig into the dirt, ripping and shoving it back. As the front legs catapult the cheetah’s body forward, its hind legs bound forward with unreal flexibility. When the front paws are finally lifting off the ground, they’re fully behind the hind legs. This incredible feat of nature’s engineering is truly a marvel of what’s possible through evolution. A closer look at the running cadence reveals yet another secret of a cheetah’s speed. 

The two front legs and two hind legs don’t land together, instead they hit the ground with a slight gallop. This incremental difference gives the more forward of either pair an extra few inches for the cheetah to push off from. The incredible biomechanics of a cheetah’s body literally push the physical limits. After only a short burst of running for less than a minute, the cheetah has to stop in order to avoid overheating. This isn’t overheating like you may have in a car with the heat too high. No, the cheetah’s brain will literally overheat and cease to function. One really has to appreciate the sheer intensity of a cheetah’s speed, pushing the limits to claim the title as fastest land animal.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Stu Porter/Shutterstock.com