- Herd of impala were drinking in Pilanesberg National Park with only zebras and some guinea fowl for company
- Out of nowhere, a hungry cheetah appeared and launched an attack on the herd prompting them to scatter
- One of the antelopes ran straight into the path of the big cat and tried to hurdle over it in an attempt to escape
- But the cheetah stopped it in mid-air and slammed its prey into the ground before cubs came to drag it away
A cheetah powerslammed an impala who had leapt straight into its arms during an ambush near a watering hole in South Africa.
Last month a herd of impala were drinking near the Rahlogo hide in Pilanesberg National Park with only zebras and some guinea fowl for company.
Out of nowhere a hungry cheetah appeared and launched an attack on the herd and while many of the graceful animals escaped, one ran straight into the arms of death.
The impala attempted to jump over her predator, who was poised to take her down amid the chaos.
As she leapt into the air, the cheetah followed her and reaching up on its hind legs, managed to grab the antelope, stop its momentum and slam her into the ground in a move more at home in a wrestling ring.
Once the dust has settled, two of the cheetah’s cubs appear to drag the impala away from the site of the kill to enjoy their meal.
An incredible set of photographs by Deon Hoon, 62, captured the entire sequence, and he described it as the ‘longest 58 seconds of my life’.
The impala attempts to leap over its hunter after the cheetah appeared from nowhere near a watering hole in South Africa
The cheetah followed its prey skywards and stopped the antelopes in mid air int he Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa
The impala tries to stretch forward in a last ditch attempt to escape from the clutches of its hunter in the bush
It’s all over for the antelope as the cheetah starts bringing its dinner down to the ground in a wrestling-type move
As the dust is kicked from the ground, the cheetah drives the impala downwards having stopped it in its tracks
The big cat mauls its prey just seconds before two cubs appear and drag the impala away from the kill site in South Africa