Cheetah Welcomes Tourists to Toilet in Savanna Desert

Namibia is an outstanding travel destination, but with such an arid terrain, it is easy for safari chasers to overlook the magnificently ecologically diverse national park that is Etosha.

Content by Patrick Duvanel

Located in the northwestern section of the country, Etosha is close to Namibia’s border with Angola. The park is categorised by its desert savanna climate. There are patches of thick, typical savanna scattered through the park, and the scenery makes for world-class wildlife photography.

The park is home to the biggest of African cats, rhinos, and elephants. The famous ‘white’ elephants of Etosha are, in particular, high up on everyone's sightings list. The elephants get their white coating from the clay and calcite sand found in Etosha Pan, which they cover themselves with for protection against the sun.

Content by S Gensicke

Since Eotsha was established in 1907, cheetahs have had a fluctuating population in the park. Their story has not been without difficulty, and the cheetah population of Etosha face similar difficulties to what they do all over Southern Africa.

Content by Raymond Wammes

Cheetahs are endemic to the Etosha area and have been around for centuries, but spotting them in the park is still as rare as it is to find them in other popular safari destinations across the bottom half of the continent.

Recently, however, one tourist and Etosha enthusiast was lucky enough to not only find cheetah, but also had an unforgettable wildlife photography opportunity. On their way to a toilet, near a popular waterhole, visitor Raymond Wammes and his family were met with a surprising sighting of a cheetah that was walking on the road.

The Okerfontein Waterhole is situated in the Eastern part of the park, where it is known as cheetah country. Everyone in the car was ecstatic when they came across the cat. There was one animal that needed ticking off for Raymond’s 8-year-old son, and that was a cheetah, which they had now found on their last day in the park.

There was so much excitement in the car, and what ended up happening at the sighting was extraordinary. The cheetah walked up to a signpost pointing out the nearby toilet facilities and leapt onto it, giving Raymond the photo opportunity that enthusiasts dream about.

Content by Raymond Wammes

The cheetah sat on the signpost for the longest time, allowing Raymond to photograph it from different angles. Raymond describes the experience as an incredible moment that he and his family shall never forget.

Cheetahs are very opportunistic hunters, but are also vulnerable to ambushes from other predators, so they will often look for higher ground to scan their surroundings. These vantage points often come in the form of termite mounds. On the lucky occasion, cheetahs will take advantage of signposts to gain elevation, but in one of the biggest parks in Africa, and in an area where humans are outnumbered by antelopes by thousands to one, this is extraordinarily rare to see and capture.