Confession: I am in Love with a Cat

I am in love with a cat. My friends will be surprised, even shocked to hear that, but it's true. She is no ordinary cat, of course. Only a truly extraordinary cat could have such an effect on me. She also would not be welcome in most households. She is by nature an outdoor cat, and, yes, she is a danger to wildlife, and that's okay. Her name is Ntombe, which comes from a river in South Africa that was the scene of a famous battle in the Anglo-Zulu war in 1879. 

Ntombe's Sweet Face

Ntombe is an Acinonyx jubatus, better known to most of us as cheetah, the fastest land animal in the world.  Her species once roamed all over Africa and much of south and southwest Asia, but is now found mostly in southern and eastern Africa, with a small population in remote parts of Iran.

Ntombe herself roams in the Tshukudu Game Reserve, a private former cattle ranch that is now devoted to caring for orphaned big cats, including lions, leopards and cheetahs. A few lions and leopards live in large breeding enclosures, but most have the run of the 12,000-acre reserve, which they share with hippos, rhinos, giraffes, wart hogs, elephants and plenty of antelopes to prey upon.

Tshukudu was the first stop on the 12-day photo safari I participated in last fall with Wild 4 Photographic Safaris. We spent two nights in Tshukudu, where we could get up close with some of the lions and leopards, as well as a rare wild dog. As we drove around the reserve, we also sighted other animals that we would see in abundance, but rarely as closely, during our 10 days in Kruger National Park.

Jaco and Ntombe

The highlight in Tshukudu, though, was Ntombe. She lives comfortably in two worlds. In her leisure, i.e., non-hunting, hours, she roams the grounds of the lodge where the staff and guests stay. 

During breakfast, she is likely to walk into the open air dining area as if she owns it, just like your house cat. She may plop herself at your feet under your table, or find a shaft of sunlight through the trees to bask in. If you take a nap in your chalet after lunch, you may find her napping at your doorstep when you awake.

 

And she loves to be petted. At least, that is the most reasonable interpretation of the purring sound she makes if you scratch the bristly fur between her ears. Cheetahs are actually the only big cats that purr.

I had my chance to pet Ntombe shortly after we arrived at Tshukudu from the small airport at Hoedspruit. We had eaten a late lunch and were about to explore the reserve by vehicle with Jaco Venter, our ranger during our stay. But Ntombe was hanging around the lodge, so we started out on foot as Jaco called Ntombe to see if she would join us. Sure enough, she did, sidling up and finally lying down on the other side of the dirt road. We fired our cameras excitedly as she posed, then Jaco invited us to pet her as we took photos of each other.

Ntombe purred softly and looked nonchalant, her eyes gazing into the distance, perhaps on the lookout for an impala or perhaps a lion that would consider her a good meal. 

She may also have been looking for her brothers, Floppy and Hunters. We also spent a lot of time looking unsuccessfully for Floppy and Hunters. They were probably out hunting. When they are not hunting, they usually hang out at the lodge, too, where they go on walks with the guests and behave similarly to Ntombe. But they don't like Ntombe, and when they come back to the lodge, she usually leaves.

Ntombe Shows Her Wild Side

On our last morning, I had wanted to record Ntombe purring, but she was not around. This gave us hope that Floppy and Hunters had come back, but there was no sign of them, either. Which could mean only that Ntombe had gotten hungry and was out in the bush looking for something to kill and eat. Because that is what she does. 

As friendly and gentle as Ntombe was with us, she remains a wild animal that responds to the hunger in her belly with the instinct of the killer that she is. Somewhere out in the bush, she would find an impala or waterbuck, creep to within 100 feet and then strike with lightning speed. Accelerating from a standstill to 60 mph in about 3 seconds, she has her prey usually in less than a minute, tripping it and then strangling it by closing her jaws over its throat. She then eats quickly before other predators and scavengers show up to claim a share.

That is the cat I was petting two days earlier, listening to her purr and wanting the moment to go on and on. To be that close and comfortable with a lethal wild animal with such power, speed and beauty is to absorb that wildness, and never want to let go.

Of course, I had to let go, and Ntombe is still at Tshukudu, being loved by the guests and feared by the impalas. That is life in the bushveldt. And I hope it goes on and on.

Ntombe and me