Imminent Pursuit

Lower your field glasses, kill the engine of your jeep — there’s a pair of cheetahs, male and female, under the acacia thornbush ahead. As the fierce sun beats down upon the grasslands beyond, patches of light and shadow play upon the coats of these great cats . . . . You’re as good as there at Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve and celebrated wildlife artist Simon Combes is your personal tour guide. As Simon points out, “Cheetahs don‘t normally hunt in the middle of the day because of the intense heat. This pair is probably having a mental battle over whether to remain in the cool shade or sprint across the searing plains, but the sighting of prey is surely a great temptation . . . .”