These three cheetahs are a coalition of brothers. They hunt and live together, which makes them far more effective than if they had to hunt by themselves. They are visiting and marking a signpost tree. This is a time consuming ritual which leaves the tree very well marked. This tree definitely belongs to the brothers! Although cheetahs are relatively tolerant of other cheetahs in the area, the tree tells them who is nearby, and lets other know this is coalition country. I love the intense expression of the cheetah facing back through the tree as he takes in the heady aroma.
I took the image with a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with Canon EF 100-400 f/ 4.5-5.6 IS II USM lens with Canon 1.4x II teleconverter. The exposure settings were 1/640 sec, f/10, ISO 320, 401 mm.
