Survival Strategies: The Art of Knowing When to Stand Still and when to run like the wind

It was a warm, sun-drenched afternoon on the Serengeti plains when we rolled up to a pile of sleeping cheetah brothers nestled under the sparse shade of a small acacia tree. Their bellies were visibly distended from a recent meal, and the way they kept shifting positions suggested they had, perhaps, overindulged. Watching them flop this way and that in an attempt to get comfortable was both amusing and oddly relatable—I couldn’t help but think of myself after a big holiday feast.

But as entertaining as the cheetahs were, another fascinating story was unfolding nearby. A small family group of zebras stood resting a short distance from the predators. They were alert, clearly aware of the cheetahs’ presence, and I expected them to make a dramatic exit at any moment. Yet, they didn’t. In fact, as the minutes passed, they seemed to grow more at ease. Not all of them, of course—there were always a few sharp-eyed sentinels keeping watch.

This led to a thought-provoking conversation with our guides about the life of a prey animal. Their survival depends not only on recognizing danger but also on knowing when that danger is not immediate or within striking distance. Prey animals are acutely aware of their “flight distance,” the space they must maintain to react and outrun predators. But they also subscribe to an age-old survival strategy: the enemy you know is safer than the one you don’t. If the zebras panicked and bolted from these overstuffed cheetahs, they could unknowingly run straight into the jaws of a hidden predator. Sometimes, the best move is to stay put, watch carefully, and choose when to flee—if at all.