Politics
Incredible moment cheetahs’ blood-splattered faces turn bright red as they gorge on slain impala
GRISLY snaps show the moment the faces of a group of blood-soaked cheetahs turned bright red as they devoured an impala they hunted down.
Incredible images show one of the big cats sinking its teeth into the neck of its 90-pound prey, who appeared to resign to its grizzly fate.
The cheetahs’ faces turned bright red as they gorged on an impala[/caption]
One snap shows one of big cats sinking its teeth into its prey’s neck[/caption]
The cheetahs become blood-soaked as the devoured the impala[/caption]
The gruesome snaps were taken by Tapan Sheth[/caption]
In other gruesome images, blood can be seen dripping from the nose of one of the 110-pound beasts, as a coalition of cheetahs feasted on the impala carcass.
The brutal pictures were captured by Tapan Sheth, who took them whilst visiting Masai Mara National Park in Kenya.
Tapan, 42, managed to get just 165 feet from the action when he snapped the extraordinary moment on his Canon 1DX Mark II with a 50mm lens.
“These are the famous five cheetah brothers, who are from different mothers, but stick together to hunt,” Tapan said.
“We found them under the tree resting on a sunny day and soon they saw a group of impalas passing.”
Tapan, from Gujarat, India, said they were taken aback to see the cheetahs capture the impala.
“They worked together to isolate and trap one of them and then feasted on it.
“I can’t describe that moment, as it was the first ever live kill I had witnessed.
“It was an incredible moment, but at the same time I felt sad for that impala.
Most read in News
“But that’s the life cycle and the strongest ones survive.”
Female cheetahs almost always hunt alone, except for when they are teaching their cubs
Males, however, form small packs called “coalitions” and work together to corner and trap their prey.
The snaps were taken in Kenya[/caption]
The photos were taken by wildlife photographer Tapan Sheth[/caption]
