When searching for cheetah in the Masai Mara the best place to start your search is atop an old termite mound. The area is littered with them and they provide the perfect vantage point for a big cat on the hunt. With grass in the reserve often as high as a cheetahs head, being able to get a higher vantage point makes scanning for prey a much simpler process.

At times, this quest to get higher has seen cheetahs climbing on top of safari vehicles. Allowing this to happen has pleased many guests in the past as they go home and talk about ‘that’ time a cheetah jumped on their car but, sadly, it is detrimental to the cheetah’s well being.

Luckily this practice has all but stopped, as guides have become wise to the possible dangers, but it is sadly still seen and perhaps even encouraged by guides chasing a large tip from unsuspecting guests. Parks and rangers are pretty quick to act should an incident occur, but with luck, over the years my images will always be of cheetahs on termite mounds, not cars.

As with all images in this collection, 10% of the proceeds from this image will be split between David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation and Saving The Wild, my two partnered charities. It is thanks to the efforts of dedicated individuals and organisations like these that I, and many others, are able to still enjoy the incredible wildlife Africa has to offer. It is imperative to me therefore, that my images are able to help them achieve their missions and amplify their message.