Sadly, their friendship only lasts for about half an hour

Feb 18, 2013 07:59 GMT  ·  By

The picture above was recently posted on Facebook by wildlife photographer Michel Denis, who saw fit to explain the cheetahs' decision to befriend the impala as follows: “The law of the wild says kill only when you are hungry.”

As one can easily notice, the predators are indeed quite interested in the impala sitting in front of them, yet the thought of eating it does not really cross their minds.

“These brothers have been living together since they left their mother at about 18 months old. At one point, they met a group of impala who ran away. But one youngster was not quick enough and the brothers caught it easily,” reads this picture's description.

Furthermore, “Then extraordinary scenes followed: they just walked away without hurting him.”

Hopefully, this will not lead to the impala's drawing the conclusion that cheetahs and similar big cats make perfect play dates.