Photo 4 of 'An African Adventure' wildlife exhibit at the Southfield Public Library
'Cheetahs DO climb trees' - Cheetahs have dog like paws, and as a result have no 'cat' climbing ability. With that knowledge, I certainly never expected to see a cheetah in a tree, so you can imagine my surprise when this cheetah sorta ran up the angled trunk of this tree to get a better view of potential prey over the nearby grasslands. By the time he got to this point, he was probably 8 feet off the ground. One of his brothers (actually there were 3 brothers living together that we followed for a couple years) climbed up a neighboring branch of the same tree as well and it was obvious that they had done this before. When they decided to return to the ground it was a combination of a run down the trunk caused by gravity, and then a jump. The next day we saw him jump up into another tree several miles from this one. In more than 30 safaris throughout Africa, this is the only time I have witnessed a cheetah in a tree and it happened 2 days in a row. Witnessing the unexpected is such a thrill and there are several such experiences on every photo safari. www.ThePhotoSafari.com"Join me in Africa... 2011 trips now available"
