Can Five Cheetahs Take Down a Wildebeest? What Happened Next Might Surprise You

A lone cheetah isn’t likely to take down a massive wildebeest, but what happens when five male cheetahs work together? A coalition of five male cheetahs, known as the Tano Bora, living in Maasai Mara National Reserve in Africa decided to take a chance on hunting a fully grown wildebeest. This is a much larger prey than a cheetah’s usual diet of gazelles, antelopes, birds, hares, and rodents. Let’s find out what happened next.

How Do Cheetahs Hunt?

First, it helps to understand how cheetahs typically hunt. Cheetahs often live and hunt alone or with just one or two other individuals. On their own, they can take down medium-sized mammals, such as gazelles and antelopes. However, when cheetahs work together, they can accomplish much more.

Female cheetahs usually live alone and only come together with males for a short time for mating. They also live with their cubs until they are around one or two years old. Occasionally, a mother cheetah has been seen teaming up with her daughter on a hunt. Males, on the other hand, form small groups of two or three cheetahs, usually siblings, to hunt with and protect their territory.

However, there was once a famous group of five male cheetahs known as the Tano Bora that roamed Africa in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Tano Bora means “the Magnificent Five” in Swahili. Two pairs of brothers formed the group along with one solitary male and created a unique partnership among cheetahs. These five friends roamed the countryside for years, but today, their number is down to only one.

Can Cheetahs Take Down Wildebeests?

A cheetah is not usually going to target such a large creature as a wildebeest. Wildebeests can weigh up to 600 pounds. Although cheetahs are fierce, they are much smaller, reaching around 88 to 140 pounds. However, when the Tano Bora worked together, they had the chance to bring down large prey, such as an enormous wildebeest.

More than just their size, wildebeests are good at defending themselves. A fascinating video featuring the Magnificent Five brothers targeting a herd of wildebeest shows just how efficient wildebeests are at defending themselves. The video short, posted on YouTube by @lovenature, shows the cheetahs chasing after the wildebeests.

One wildebeest gets a strong kick, right to a cheetah’s face. Next, the five cheetahs are split up by the herd and find themselves on the other end of the wildebeests’ brute force.

How Do Wildebeests Defend Themselves?

While cheetahs run around 50 to 80 miles per hour, wildebeests are also fast. They can’t top a cheetah’s sprinting speed, but they can sprint at speeds of 50 miles per hour. Wildebeests also clump together in groups to protect themselves and their young from predators. They will stomp loudly and call out to other members of the herd for help when threatened.

Although wildebeests are typically mild-mannered, they will charge when threatened. They put their heads down and use their sharp, curved horns to attack predators. When a wildebeest herd stampedes, they are likely to trample anything in their path.

What Happened to the Famous Five Cheetahs of Maasai Mara?

Today, the Tano Bora is down to one. In 2016, the five males were first spotted by wildlife experts, hunting, bonding, and dominating the land around them. For years, their team worked to take down large prey, defend a large territory, and defend their kills from scavengers, such as hyenas. But the African savannah is a harsh place, and four of the group are now gone.

The first to leave was the top leader, who had left the group to mate. On his return, he was rejected by the other members and lost his leader status. He was later found dead of cheetah wounds, which wildlife experts believe came from his former teammates.

The group was down to four when another was killed by lions, leaving them with three. Sadly, a third was allegedly killed by humans when he wandered into an area where livestock were kept. For three years, the two remaining cheetahs roamed together until one had a serious leg injury and died in March 2025 from its wounds.

One Member Left of the Famous Tano Bora

Today, there is one survivor left, but his future is uncertain. Male cheetahs typically don’t last alone for long. They form coalitions to hunt and defend themselves from other cheetah attacks. On his own, the last remaining member of the group is likely to suffer harsh conditions. Perhaps he can form another group with another male cheetah. Unless he does, he is likely to face extreme hardships as he hunts alone.