‘Predator v Prey’ Recap: ‘Cheetah’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Still from ‘Predator v Prey’ Courtesy of BBC America.

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Two of ‘Predator v Prey’. To revisit the Series Premiere, click here.
​
When we last settled in to discuss the fascinating new BBC America series, Predator v Prey, we talked at length about the show’s revolutionary nature. For it wasn’t just a collage and collection of clips and anecdotes about how the predators of the world, hunt, and feed. Oh no, it was an incredible deep dive into the science behind the hunt. How there are careful calculations into what lions do to earn their title as King and Queens of the Jungle. Which brought forth some fascinating lessons and facts that so many of us likely knew nothing about, alongside some breathtaking moments that outright shocked and surprised us and left us wondering… what else could this series teach us?

Well as it turns out… this show is going to leave no stone unturned when it comes to the science behind how predators hunt, as evidenced by the next chapter in this tale. For last night’s episode focused squarely on the ‘Cheetah’ and opted to showcase elements in its life that we don’t think about all that often when it comes to the predators of the world. For instance, how they learn to hunt. Which may be attributed to a universal belief that instinct rules all in that instance and that’s fair and fine. After all, there is some measure of understanding and distinction between predator and prey in this life. But believe it or not, it goes far beyond that… in fact, this episode helped us to understand… a predator’s skill set is learned behavior.

For we spent time with a family of cheetahs in this tale, a matriarch and her three cubs and well… over the course of eighteen months, the film crew was able to watch in great detail… how the mother of this family, first went about feeding them to keep everyone strong and everyone thriving, so that the cubs could in fact… learn to hunt from mother. Because once they were old enough and ready to observe, they watched mother in action in great detail. How she stalked, how she moved, how she brought down prey that was bigger and stronger than her, and soon after… her cubs would practice such acts in play and eventually… the time came where they had to physically learn how to bring down prey in preparation for leaving the family unit and heading out onto their own.

Which led to some fascinating moments again, where we saw the mother carefully showcase to her children the art of hunting with a delicate care and well… her lessons paid off in spades. Since we were also privy to the moment when her male cubs enjoyed their first group kill after leaving home and where her daughter, brought forth her own solo kill as well. Bringing about an amazing coda that truly showcased how much learning goes into being a predator, and how such actions are passed down from generation to generation, something that we really don’t ever see on television or in documentaries and as mentioned before… don’t think about all that often.

But now we will. Because this episode showcased that delicate learning process, one that nature undoubtedly thrives upon in order to keep the natural order going. Courtesy of one stunning tale, one that yes, also featured more of the amazing science we found in the first story. Since we came to learn a lot about how the cheetah hunts in the moment and some of the physiological traits, they carry, that give them a grandiose advantage in the wild. But this episode really did up its game and go one step further and showcase so much more, and now we will definitely look at predators in a vastly differently light and truly, it will be fascinating to see what other lessons and revelations await us in the next chapter of this story. Until next time.

---

Watch ‘Predator v Prey’

Powered by JustWatch