Cheetah and her cub on a kill. A nine month old Cheetah cub had been presented with a huge meal by its mother. Recently, she had killed this female Impala. This Cheetah had had six cubs but five of them had been killed by Hyenas. This was her first litter and her inexperience was probably a contributing factor to this terrible loss. Nevertheless, she had provided a substantial meal for the last remaining cub. They both tucked in and then had a clean up session.
Cheetahs have a tough life being at the bottom of the pile when it comes to other predators. Cheetahs frequently lose their prey to the likes of lion and hyena.
The Cheetah is under real threat with about 7000 animals remaining in the wild. It is effectively extinct in 10 countries which formed part of its normal range and it is likely that it will disappear from a further 11 countries in the not too distant future. So it was encouraging that this healthy looking female had one well fed young cub. Let’s hope that it survives.