Grégoire Bouguereau's Image

A single cheetah would never normally dream of taking on prey the size of an adult wildebeest.

But there was obviously something wrong with this wildebeest, which was lying on the ground, covered in mud. It kept trying, laboriously, to get to its feet. Each time it did manage to stand, it would collapse again. Its behaviour caught the attention of a female cheetah with two cubs, which Grégoire had been watching for several days in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. ‘She had just caught a newborn Thomson’s gazelle, but that wasn’t enough food for her family. So, after observing the struggling wildebeest for a while, she decided to make the most of the opportunity.’ While the female was assessing the situation, Grégoire positioned his camera and set it on remote control so that he, too, could seize the opportunity.