Apparently Cheetahs DO Prosper

In Lewa Conservancy (our first three days of safari), we saw one cheetah and one leopard.  I was hoping to have the same luck during our three days in Masai Mara with finding these two hard-to-spot big cats.  

Well, we never saw another leopard (that's not a complaint, just an observation), but on our last day in Masai Mara, we came across not one, not two, but three cheetahs.  And they weren't even that far apart.  

The first one was picking its way downhill until it got to the tree it wanted, and then plopped down to rest in the shade.  A nearby herd of gazelles looked nervously at the cheetah, trotting further away to provide more space between being dinner and being alive.

The other two were a short drive away, lying down and sleeping.  It's always a thrill to see one of the three big cats. . .but I never expected to see three cheetahs in the same half hour.

Cheetah on the move.  It even walks

with studied grace and power.

It got to the shade and 

plopped down for a rest.

These gazelles looked on nervously,

and then moved a bit further away.

And they kept on looking nervously.

The other cheetahs.  It was time

to let sleeping cheetahs lie.