See This Antelope Run For Its Life Like He’s In the Olympics

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When a prey knows predators are hunting them, their instinct is to run. This is perhaps the best thing they can do because a fight with a predator often results in a fatality. Watch this antelope run in the above video, like in the Olympics!

Antelope Fleeing in South Africa

The YouTube video at the top of this blog post takes us to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. The Love Nature YouTube page posted this video, and it has received more than 88,000 views. They share a short description of what happened in the video below. 

“Antelope narrowly escapes a young cheetah chase in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves on the continent. It contains diverse habitats and is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds, and reptiles. This abundance of animals means many predators, including Africa’s big cats.” 

Cheetah Hunting Antelope in the Kruger National Park 

At the start of the video, we see a pair of cheetah brothers sticking together. It is expected to hear that cheetahs live alone, which is correct when referencing females. However, according to the Cheetah Conservation Fund, “male cheetahs prefer to live in set territories with their coalition.” And many of these coalitions are brothers. 

Like most groups that hunt together, there is power in numbers. However, as life typically goes, all good things must end. One of the cheetah brothers splits off to find new territory, and the other is left alone. 

This cheetah travels for many miles to find his alliance. The narrator states that sometimes cheetahs can travel more than 125 miles to find new territory. The cheetah then begins hunting to see what this new territory is made of. 

He has his sights set on a small herd of antelope. At two minutes, we see the cheetah silently approach these antelopes in hopes of being able to pounce before his presence is known. However, his hunger may have gotten the best of him, and we see the antelope closest to him alerted to his presence and sprint off like he is in the Olympics.

What Do Cheetahs Like to Eat?

Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) of the genus Acinonyx are carnivore eaters, which means they eat meat. These predators prey on various animals such as springbok, stenbok, duikers, impalas, gazelles, warthogs, kudu, hartebeest, oryx, roan, and sables. And like most predators, they feast on smaller animals such as birds and rabbits. 

The cheetah is best positioned to capture various prey, as seen above. They have the fastest record as land sanimals that can reach up to 70 miles per hour. It is well thought out that cheetahs can get this speed in only a matter of mere seconds. 

So, this antelope knew it had to run faster than it had ever run to escape being caught. Luckily for this antelope, it worked this time.