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“Oh, come ON”! Is what this mother cheetah’s body language seems to be conveying to her unruly youngsters. There were actually 4 cubs (also known as kittens), but to get them all into one image proved to be a challenge. I could empathise with the female as even for me as a photographer it was like trying to put an octopus into a bucket…you get one leg in and another pops out.
Like any young animal, the ‘cuteness’ factor takes over and there are more images than there is space available in a posting. For those who know the Pilanesberg and Black Rhino Reserves well, these cubs belong to Tale, Rain’s daughter.
“I am a super Cheetah and my power is that of flight”! This particular youngster was chasing its siblings down the road. (We did not get close enough to identify the sex of the cubs)
“Don’t look now”…sneaking up from behind. Stalking is a regular form of play for predators as it teaches them how to creep up on potential prey when they are older and able to hunt for themselves.
FYI: Cubs have been known to hunt from as young as 3 months and in order to perfect this skill set, they will chase, stalk and wrestle with each other.
Cheetahs, like most cat species, seems to have the ability to stare straight into your soul.
FYI: The black tear-lines on either of its face help reflect the glare that occurs if they hunt in the heat of the day. NFL football players in the USA use similar lines to reflect bright stadium lighting.
“I am fearless and bold because I know that I have my family close at hand”…There has never been a recorded incident of a wild cheetah attacking a human. However, all recorded attacks have been in enclosures where the animal might have felt restricted or the attach was on a child that might have been seen as prey due to size.
FYI: The name ‘Cheetah’ is derived from the Hindi word “Chita”, meaning spotted one. As the cannot roar they are known as Lesser Cats, unlike lions, who communicate by roaring and are therefor Greater Cats.
This play, unlike human youngsters, does have a purpose. It is designed to make the cubs self-sufficient as young as possible. The females will become solitary, meeting up with males only to mate, and the male siblings have been known to form coalitions, which enables them to hunt larger game, meaning that they can hunt less often.
FYI: Cheetah will often lose their kills to stronger predators and therefore have to eat as quickly as possible. This is often not an option as they need to rest after a kill due to the amount of energy expended during the hunt. There is documentary evidence of lions attacking and killing cheetah.
Looking back to see where the missing sibling is… At this particular point, the female had seemingly lost interest in her cubs and was meandering slowly up the road, looking back covertly to keep track of this unruly bunch.
FYI: Cubs will stay with their mothers for up to 18 months. Even with this protection, the mortality rate of the cubs is about 70%, with many of that number being killed by predators like lions and hyena.
Cheetah can swim, but they only do so when there is no other option available. This group of cubs chose to walk around/jump over this puddle of water in the road. And because it was there, they each stopped for a drink, much to the annoyance of the female, who was trying to keep them all together without constantly stopping to check as to where they were.
“You will not follow us. You will not follow us”. This youngster seems to want to get into a staring competition with our vehicle. It lost and we were able to spend 30 minutes with this family.
When the kittens are born, they have a ruff of fur that runs along their back, making them look larger than they actually are. Some guides might even tell you that this form of camouflage they look like a Honey Badger, a rather ill-tempered and aggressive smaller predator.
FYI: This ruff starts to vanish at around 3 months, but is often visible until they are 2 years old.
At the end of this interaction, I chatted with RJ, our Field Guide from Black Rhino Game Lodge, about his time in the bush.
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