Cheetah cubs

Cheetah cubs have extremely high rates of mortality with only about 1 in 20 making it to adulthood. Most casualties fall victims to predators such as lions and hyenas with the mother’s main defence strategy being to hide her cubs away and move them to a new den every five days or so. When prey is scarce the mother will sometimes be forced to leave them for up to two days and if she is unable to eat enough to meet the demands of lactation, her litter will be abandoned. But even if they defy the odds and reach adulthood they have other obstacles to overcome as it can take over two years for a cheetah to become a fully proficient hunter. Cheetahs are just one of numerous animals featured in my new book published in UK 15th August. Click here for more info.