Sura ya Saba - Duma Watoto wa Serengeti

Chapter Seven - Cheetah Cubs of the Serengeti

After the gore of the last chapter, it's time to settle down with some more cuddly cubs. Time to leave the dark side of nature.

There are so many photos that I love of these guys. Too many for one post, so I've split it into two chapters. There's a link to the following chapter (Cheetahs at Play) at the bottom of this page.


Our task; to find a female cheetah with young cubs. This is not an easy thing to do, as they spend most of their time lying in the grass, well-camouflaged.

The best time to spot them is when they are sitting up, checking out the neighbourhood. They need to watch for food and for danger. Lions, hyenas, leopards, all are dangerous to cheetahs and their cubs.

 If, like this one, they decide to lie down in the middle of the road, then all the better.

 She's off. Clearly not a female in milk, but we'll follow her anyway.

 Hang on a minute, she's on the hunt...

 Heck. Cut this scene. We want cuddles not gore...

There is another way to spot them. Look for where the other animals are not. In amongst all the wildebeest, we saw a large circular void. And in its centre, these:

 It was a female with six cubs. Five of her own and one adopted from an older daughter.

 They were a couple of months old,

 were already good runners,

 and jumpers.

 They needed regular cleaning

 as did the mother.

 She did not always seem too happy with that,

 but put up with it anyway.

 The cubs practiced stalking each other,

 but never went far from their mother.

 She taught them how to hunt

 Like all cats, they were curious.

 They came right up to our truck

 and played underneath it.

 They would lie together for a few seconds,

 then be up on the prowl again.

 They played together...

as we'll see in the next chapter...

Sura ya Nane - Duma Watoto Wanacheza

Chapter Eight - Cheetahs Cubs at Play.