An action that shows the warthog herd is not afraid of the cheetah, and even somewhat dismissive.
The cheetah is known as the fastest land animal. With a slender, streamlined body, the cheetah possesses a strong, agile frame, long legs, a flexible spine, and special pads on its feet that allow it to sprint at high speeds with ease.
The cheetah can reach a maximum speed of up to 120 km/h, with the ability to accelerate from 0 to 96 km/h in just 3 seconds. Each cheetah can maintain this speed for about one minute.
The cheetah shows no signs of fighting to protect its meal from the warthog herd.
The cheetah is also equipped with a distinctive black stripe that runs from its eyes to the corners of its mouth, functioning as a mechanism to help its eyes resist glare while hunting during the day.
With its innate speed, it is no surprise that scientists classify the cheetah among the most fearsome predators on the planet.
The cheetah primarily feeds on small to medium-sized animals such as antelopes, rabbits, small wildebeests, warthogs, and birds.
While an excellent hunter, the cheetah is quite poor at protecting its catch. In fact, most of the food it secures is often stolen by other predators like lions, hyenas, vultures, or wild dogs.
Even worse, warthogs, an omnivorous species, can easily snatch away a cheetah’s meal, as seen in the video clip below.
This rare experience was captured by Ms. Shakera Kaloo during her experiential trip to Kruger National Park, South Africa.
Ms. Shakera recalls the day when her group had just passed the Crocodile Bridge about 5 minutes into their drive when they witnessed a hunting scene between a cheetah and an impala.
Amazed by the precious gift of nature, the tourists decided to stop here to capture this valuable moment.
The cheetah carefully looked around before daring to enjoy its meal. Suddenly, a family of warthogs appeared, slowly making their way directly to where the cheetah was feasting.
The warthog is an animal with an unattractive appearance, averaging about 60-80 cm in height and weighing around 50 kg, characterized by long, sharp, curved tusks.
With its tusks, the warthog can defend itself against aggressive predators and attack smaller animals.
Their diet is diverse, ranging from vegetables and fruits to insects and fungi. If they come across leftover animal carcasses, warthogs are also ready to feast on them.
Surprisingly, the cheetah showed almost no signs of threat or readiness to fight to protect its meal from the warthog herd. In fact, the cheetah was so cowardly that it walked away, an act that essentially surrendered its meal to the warthog family.
