A brave mother cheetah chased off a prowling lion three times her weight after he tried to eat her cubs in Kenya.
Dramatic images captured by Kisemei Saruni, 35, at the Maasai Mara National Reserve showed the moment the cheetah fled from the lion before turning the tables and chasing the would-be hunter away. Saruni, who captured the images from 130 metres away, said: ‘I was on a regular drive tour while we were viewing a leopard and her cubs when a male lion came out of a bush not far from us.
‘The lion was just casually strolling around his territory when he saw the cheetah and the cubs. The lion ran to the cubs and at first the mama cheetah surrendered and ran away, only to change her mind and chase the lion away.’ A cheetah chase usually lasts less than a minute and covers just 200-300 metres. At full speed, the cheetah takes three strides a second, covering seven-metres per stride. Cheetah females are solitary creatures and usually raise their cubs alone, hiding them in dens by day, and teaching them hunting skills as they grow.
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