A Close Encounter with Rhino and Cheetah on the Hunt

Nothing gets your heart racing like walking in the bush and getting up close to rhino. Going on walking safaris isn’t something that I’ve done a lot of and it really is so much more exciting than viewing game from the safety of a vehicle. As we were walking along the river, we spotted three white rhino having a drink. We approached quietly then crouched down by a bush to wait and watch. The rhino, one mother and her two young, after finishing their drink start walking directly towards us. With strict instructions from our Masai guide to stay quiet and not move, they literally came to within ten feet of us. They then went on by, but having smelt us came back for a second look. Rhino have very poor eye sight but consequently their hearing and smell senses are heightened. They also have a tendency to charge blindly in the direction of anything they perceive as a threat. I was slightly concerned when our guide whispers to us to pick up rocks, particularly after scanning around and realising there was not a handy rock anywhere within reach. In the event of a rhino charging, the guide will usually throw a rock to try and distract it and send it off course. Whilst the guides do carry guns, shooting such an endangered species as rhino would be very much a last resort. After what seemed like an age of cowering behind the bush, and was probably just a few minutes, the rhino decided to move on. Phew! We continued with our walk encountering lots of giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, wart hog and five more rhino – this time not at such close range.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, the following day, I saw two cheetah attempting to make a kill. Although I’ve seen cheetah many times, seeing them in full flight after a Grant’s Gazelle is new for me and a spectacular sight. Our patience was rewarded after watching the cheetah for an hour walking across the plain and scanning the savannah for potential food. Sadly, these two female cheetah are young, inexperienced hunters. They were even attempting to pounce on small animals (mongoose, hare, etc.) in the bushes so they must have been very hungry – they certainly looked skinny. After failing there, I didn’t fancy their chances much with bigger game but as luck would have it a hapless gazelle wandered obliviously straight into their path. At this point, we could no longer see the cheetah as they had crouched low into the grass. Then pow! Two cheetah in full flight, dust flying everywhere. They got to within a whisker of the gazelle but it managed to escape unscathed. Better luck next time girls…