The Pounce

Three cheetahs rest and tumble in the dry grass of Namiri Plains, Serengeti, Tanzania: a mother and her two juvenile cubs, who had spent most of the morning lying in the shade of a lone tree with no interest in moving. We sat with them and waited. As the sun climbed, one cub ran out of patience and launched itself at the other, both animals twisting up into the grass in a tangle of spots and tails. I had the camera flat on the ground to stay below the grass line, which put the clear blue sky behind them and cleared everything else away. The eastern Serengeti is managed specifically with big cats in mind, and its cheetah population is among the strongest remaining anywhere, even as the species is listed Vulnerable globally and continues to lose ground outside protected land.