Camera: Nikon Z9

Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

Aperture: f/22

Shutter speed: 1/2000s

ISO: 2800

Description: This image shows one of the well-known cheetah brothers (Mbili Bora) chasing a Topi before attempting to hunt it.

Story from behind the lens: In the morning, we were with Mbili Bora, the famous cheetah brothers, and watched them cross the Talek river from the Olkiombo side to Pose side. We waited patiently with them for 6 hours in the hope that they would stand up and hunt. We were hoping they would cross to the next plain as there were quite a few Topis there. A short while later, they spotted some Topis coming out of the bush which was close to the tree under which they were resting. We wondered why they were not going to hunt, not realizing that they were waiting for all the Topis to sit down. When all the Topis finally sat down, they started stalking them. They got within a 20-metre range and started chasing them. One of the brothers picked a target and was determined to hunt it. He gave it a good chase, and I kept on shooting while keeping the cheetah and Topi in the same frame and in focus. My heart was beating fast. The cheetah gave the Topi a good slap to the leg, but it didn’t fall he tried to jump on the Topi, but the Topi managed to get away. I was sad that the Topi got away, but when I went through my shots, I saw that I got some incredible shots of the chase which uplifted my mood up.