Pictures: 5 cheetah brothers swim across flooded river

A rare sighting of five cheetah brothers crossing a flooded river was captured from both banks by award-winning Norwegian wildlife photographer Arnfin Johansen. and by photographer Buddhilini De Soyza who was on the opposite side.

The two were at the right place the right time to take some very unique images as the group of cheetahs swam across the flooded Talek River in the Masai Mara Reserve, in Kenya.

According to a Facebook post, the group crossed despite the strong current and potential danger from crocodiles. ‘The three biggest were the first to cross, the two others followed a little while after. They all made it to the other side!’

The top image in the African Safari Group Facebook post (below) of the three of the cheetahs’ faces, which look like they’re grimacing, was captured by Buddhilini De Soyza (and incorrectly attributed to Johansen) and the image below that showing the side profile of the cats was taken by Johansen.

According to Femke Broekhuis a researcher and project director of the Mara Cheetah Project from the University of Oxford, ‘The Maasai Mara is one of the few remaining strongholds for the global cheetah population.’ Although the number is higher than in other parts of the world, she cautions, ‘But this does not mean that cheetahs in the Maasai Mara are not threatened. Cheetahs face a kaleidoscope of threats. These include habitat loss, prey depletion and human-wildlife conflict.’