Witness a Cheetah Quartet Charge at Warthogs, Splitting Up to Chase Down Multiple

Cheetah Brothers All Turn on the Afterburners to Catch a Baby Warthog!

In the cinematic and intense clip at the top of the page, a coalition of 4 cheetahs set off on a sprint after their dinner! The camera is fixed on the four cheetahs, running side by side across the dry savannah grass. As they approach a family of warthogs, they’re alerted of the predators coming after them and begin to scatter! One cheetah leading the four locks in on one specific warthog and begins to give chase! Though the camera lens slightly conceals the true quickness of the cheetahs, their remarkable running form is on full display!

Using its tail to balance itself, the cheetah chasing the fully grown warthog follows it from left to right! Each time the warthog switches direction, the cheetah contorts its slim body to stay on its tail! But the warthog’s moves were enough to dissuade the quick cat and it gives up the chase. The camera quickly cuts to another of the four cheetahs, who is quite a bit closer to completing his chase! Closing in on a baby warthog, the slow motion footage once again shows the incredible sprinting form of a cheetah! 

The baby warthog attempts the same lifesaving move as its parent, but its small legs lack the power. The cheetah’s head is like a cruise missile, staying locked in on its target as the body moves behind it. Finally, the cheetah is upon the baby warthog, and swipes its legs out from underneath it! The baby warthog’s momentum sends it tumbling across the dirt, before the cheetah pins it down and chomps down. With a neck bite, the cheetah secures its prize, reaffirming itself as the fastest land animal.

How Many Cheetahs Can Be In a Group Together? Do Cheetahs Have Prides Like Lions?

In videos like the one at the top of the page, numerous cheetahs can be seen hunting together! Clearly not in competition with one another, its reasonable for any viewer to think these cheetahs are a pack! And while this isn’t entirely wrong, cheetahs are not fully social creatures like their relatives lions. A lion pride has a unique social hierarchy, while cheetah groups don’t fulfill the same role in their species. 

Lion prides are made up of a few male lions who are littermates (i.e. brothers, or cousins raised simultaneously), and a larger number of lionesses. In extremely rare instances, coalitions of up to 6 male lions have been recorded, though most prides have 2 or 3. These male lions will mate with all of the lionesses in their pride, with one normally taking the ‘alpha’ role over the others. Cheetah coalitions don’t form prides the same way, but the members come together from a similar family framework. 

Considering cheetah mothers raise their cubs single handedly, cheetah coalitions are always made up of brothers who were born to the same litter. Many cheetahs are fully solitary creatures, only ever spending time with another cheetah to mate. That’s what makes cheetah coalitions so interesting, as it gives the impression of a tight-knit brotherhood. These coalitions of cheetahs will hunt and feed together, and are more able to defend their kills from competitors! A coalition of 4 cheetahs like the one in the video at the top of the page are rare, with most cheetah coalitions being just 2 or 3 brothers.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © photosfromafrica/iStock via Getty Images