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Having been off-limits to
tourists for decades, the Namiri
Plains are now home to one of
Africa’s healthiest population of
cheetah. There they compete
with lions, leopards, and hyenas
for food, hoping to prove that
speed has the edge over power.
BY JAMIE LAFFERTY
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Experience TRAVEL
O
ONE MORNING IN the Serengeti a tawny eagle was
sitting on an acacia tree. The sun had risen a few hours
earlier and the bird had used most of the daylight
for gathering twigs and assembling them into a nest.
The acacia's wicked thorns were almost as sharp as
the eagle's talons – this was a job that required a lot
of concentration.
For all the tawny eagle's skill as a nest-builder, she
was not a natural hunter, instead preferring to pick over
the leftovers of others. Though she thought of herself
as a far nobler, prettier creature, in this regard she was
similar to the Serengeti's squadrons of vultures, the ugly
faces of which would snap at her if she found a meal
before them.
But this particular morning, the tawny eagle had
been so engrossed with her nest that she had given
little thought to eating. At least not before The
Twins arrived.
The eagle had never learned the name of these
two cheetah, but she had often seen them in the
neighbourhood. Drinking from the nearby watering
hole, prowling in the long grass, sleeping beneath her
tree... They were always together. When one drank, the
other kept an eye out for lions. When they had to fight
hyena, they did so together. When
they killed, which was often, they
did that together, too. At their best,
The Twins were not hunters – they
were assassins, and even when they
weren't visible, other animals were
aware of their menace.
But, as the eagle was beginning
to see, their reputation had not
reached everyone in the Serengeti. From her vantage point atop the tree,
she could see a large, male Grant's Gazelle, alone on the dirt road which
encircled the watering hole. She did not recognise this loner and wondered
how he could have got himself so lost – so alone.
To her left, the eagle's keen eyes detected The Twins, and beyond, one of
those strange, rumbling things, something like an elephant, with two pink
baboon faces poking out from its back.
From the acacia she could see that the baboons were staring at The Twins
just as intently as the cats were staring at the gazelle. Somehow the noise
from their dusty elephant wasn't disturbing the other animals; somehow the
gazelle was the only one who didn't know what was happening.
The eagle knew that the quarry had a great sense of smell – even better
than her's – but the wind blew away from it and towards the clever cats,
who edged slowly and certainly towards their prey, the hunt progressing like
a thing foretold.
The eagle watched and the eagle waited. In a few moments, breakfast
would be ready.
THE NAMIRI PLAINS are a long way from anything. Tucked away in the
eastern part of the Serengeti National Park, it takes at least a couple of
hours of driving along a dirt track to reach them from the dusty Seronera
Airstrip, which is itself several flights away from any significant city. In the
heart of these vast grassy expanses, the Asilia Namiri Plains Camp is the
only accommodation in the area. This remoteness isn't an accident – the
region was closed to tourists for 20 years, a bold conservation plan to help
the populations of large cats recover from years of decline.
As a result, the healthy populations of giant vegetarians (buffalo, giraffe,
elephant, etc.) are now joined by lions and leopards. But of particular interest
to the authorities – and now visiting tourists – are dozens of rare cheetah.
As my guide Ayoub Laizer explains, cheetah have as hard a life as any
creature on Africa's great plains. Certainly, among the big cats they are
the most persecuted. The main problem, Ayoub tells me, isn't poachers but
other, larger carnivores. The cheetah may be an efficient hunter – famously,
no land animal is faster – but that counts for little when a big, bullying lion
arrives to chase them from their own kill. Clans of hyena often do the same.
In a straight fight, a cheetah will always retreat from a leopard, too.
Worse, if their kill is detected by vultures, the ominous circling above
will attract those large scavengers from miles away, and with diminishing
territories in which cheetah can stretch their long legs, these conflicts are
on the rise.
OPENING PAGE: A cheetah, at top speed,
races across the savannah.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A dazzle
of zebra in the Serengeti National Park;
a leopard relaxes in a tree after lunch;
two Maasai women walk across a plain;
dawn pours into the Ngorongoro Crater;
The Twins attack a Grant's Gazelle; a
female African elephant gets close to the
Asilia jeep.
At their best, The Twins were not hunters – they were assassins,
and even when they weren't visible, other animals were aware
of their menace.
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Experience TRAVEL
ASILIA AFRICA
Every respectable safari company in Tanzania
promotes sustainability and conservation
initiatives, but Asilia does more than most. With
18 eco-friendly properties dotted around Africa,
its incontestable dedication to its environment
has manifold benefits for man and beast alike. Its
policy of recruiting locally provides employment
and education, but also helps promote
understanding that the African continent's
wonderful animals are worth more alive
than dead.
The Namiri Camp has been helping keep an eye
on the cheetah population for the last two years,
but the Asilia portfolio has just been boosted by
another property, The Highlands, on the slopes of
the mighty Ngorongoro Crater, 100km to the east.
In a first for Africa, the unique domes bring to
mind igloos which, given the infamously chilly
weather along the ancient volcano's rim, seems
entirely appropriate.
As well as being environmentally friendly –
there’s a full solar plant, and a biogas digester
that produces methane used for cooking – The
Highlands leads game drives to the prehistoric
caldera of the Ngorongoro Crater, the only place
in Tanzania where it's possible to see the big five,
thanks to its population of ultra-rare black rhino
and a few illusive leopard living along the rim.
Conservation isn't limited to fauna, however
– The Highlands property offers visits to a
nearby Maasai village, where tourists can meet
local tribesman (almost half of the staff on site
are also Maasai). Far removed from the gaudy
'shows' put on by other Maasai villages nearby,
these visits are promoted as a cultural exchange.
That gives inquisitive Chief Laigwenani license
to ask as many questions of his guests as they
do of him, but the main aim is for foreigners to
learn more about an ancient way of life and the
challenges it faces in the modern world. There are
30 people living in Laigwenani's village, alongside
over 100 livestock, and it's impossible to say
what's more adorable – the new calves or the tiny
children trying to herd them.
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On top of all that, cheetahs aren't really big enough
to bring down larger, slower animals such as wildebeest
alone. If they're to attempt that, they must cooperate
with others, but they never form large groups as lions
do. Instead they mostly focus on fleet-footed antelope,
many of which congregate in large numbers to keep an
eye on predators.
Every element of a cheetah’s hunt is fraught with
complication, but at least males can form those
coalitions – females are solitary as adults and often
have to care for cubs. With no help, they must stalk, hunt
and kill prey, all the while worrying about their offspring
being snatched by jackals, hyenas or even large birds. It
doesn't get easier when the sun goes down – the nights
are dark and full of terrors. “It's tough to be a cheetah,”
says Ayoub more than once over three days in Namiri.
“If they're not careful, they end up resting in pieces, too.”
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In the vastness of the Serengeti grasslands, there
are thought to be over 3,000 lions and perhaps 1,000
leopards. The cheetah population stands at just 350,
lethal little needles in this near-infinite haystack.
Thanks to projects such as those in Namiri, however,
the number is on the rise; as the only camp in the
region, Asilia is promoted as custodian of the lanky cats.
Staying there it was easy to feel a kinship with them –
especially as, thanks to Ayoub's freakishly good eyes, we
saw 15 different cheetah, six of which were impossibly
cute cubs.
Near and far, every encounter was memorable, but
nothing more so than the electric morning we saw two
brothers kill a Grant's Gazelle. Ayoub saw the cats by
a watering hole, one craning its long neck to sip from
the lake, scale being the only difference between it and
a tabby with a bowl of milk. While it drank, the other
For more information on Asilia and its variety of
superb eco-conscious camps, visit asiliaafrica.com
IMAGES: CORBIS / PHOCAL MEDIA, KATY MORRISON & SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
CLOCKWISE FROM
TOP LEFT: A
tourist visits the
Maasai village;
a tawny eagle in
an acacia tree;
the new domes at
Asilia's Highlands
property; a more
traditional tent in
the Namiri Plains;
a mother cheetah
with a large litter
of cubs.
spotted the gazelle, and a minute later they both began
to move inexorably towards it.
From the open top of our Land Cruiser, my
photographer and I could see the gazelle and the
cheetahs clearly. When the cats moved towards it, it
seemed inevitable that it would see them, too. Yet,
closer and closer they got, the gazelle totally unaware of
their murderous intent. When it made the fatal mistake
of moving into taller grass, the cheetahs trotted almost
casually across a dirt path and were on it in a flash.
There wasn't a chase – it was an ambush. “Hold on
guys!” shouted Ayoub as we sped towards the scene.
When we got there just a few seconds later, the
cheetah were working as a team to bring down the much
larger gazelle. It was a strangely noiseless business, the
cats keen to work as quickly and quietly as possible so
as to avoid detection by larger competitors. Lions and
Within a few
minutes, James
Augustus Grant,
the Scottish
explorer after
whom the animal
was named,
was down one
gazelle, but two
magnificent
cheetah had
scored a meal.
hyenas have tremendous power; the cheetah are skinny,
silent stranglers, essentially reduced to just holding on
and hoping for the best… Within a few minutes, James
Augustus Grant, the Scottish explorer after whom the
animal was named, was down one gazelle, but two
magnificent cheetah had scored a meal.
Moments later, a black-backed jackal arrived hoping
to steal some breakfast. When the brothers refused to
let it close, the jackal started barking, hoping to alert
other predators of their deed. It perhaps reasoned that
in the ensuing chaos it would get a chance to snap at
the meat, but one of the cheetah chased it away before
it had the chance. Our adrenaline was up for hours
afterwards, but while the cats began to devour the
gazelle, Ayoub calmly pointed to an acacia tree behind
us. At the top, from a large nest, a tawny eagle was
watching this strange scene unfold.
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