Rare Sighting: Cute and Fluffy Cheetah Cubs

Guests at nThambo Tree Camp and Africa on Foot in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve were treated to a rare sighting while out on their afternoon game drive. It was an average Saturday afternoon when the team headed out into the thicket of our traverse to track lions, which have been prominant in our area over the past few weeks. Instead, guests were elated when our rangers and trackers found an adult female cheetah with her three cubs ! A sighting so rare that only a privileged few get to enjoy.

The female cheetah was mildly anxious, which is understandable because cubs are vulnerable in the wild and she has a motherly instinct to protect them.  Adult female cheetahs are solitary cats, but their cubs stay with them for at least a year, if not longer. Cheetahs are cats who hunt by sight. They are therefore active during the day and when there is full moon to illuminate the landscape. Their main competitors are nocturnal and thrive on hunts during the dead of the night. Hunting when other predators are dormant means they eliminate the competition for food.

The female and her cubs were spotted during the earlier part of the game drive, right in the heart of our traverse.  The cubs have a huge, fluffy band of fur down the middle of their backs. This band of greyish fur is normally there for roughly 3 months, indicating that the cubs are around 6/7 weeks old. So, why do the cubs have a grey fur mantle across their backs? It is suggested that the mantle of fur imitates the markings of the fearless and ferocious honey badger; which would make predators weary of approaching.

Here are Jochen’s exceptional photos of these bundles of fluffy cuteness.

Majestic cheetah cubs born into the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve Right in the heart of the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve - cheetah cubs Cheetah cubs believed to be less than 3 months old.

Female cheetah spotted on the nThambo and Africa on Foot Traverse Female cheetah looks out for danger while protecting her cubs Female cheetah and 3 cubs in the midst of the Klaserie Klaserie female cheetah and cubs - notice the band of fur on the cubs Cheetah mother protects her young Cheetah surveys her land and protects her young. She is quite anxious. Female cheetah was spotted with 3 cubs, less than 3 months old.