It’s been a while since we’ve seen cheetah in the north of the reserve but it seems there is now a female who has come up from the south exploring new territory – and that with cubs! With our historically powerful lion and hyena populations, cheetah have struggled to survive around here but it looks as though this may be about to change as this female has stayed longer than others before her. Perhaps she is expanding her territory – or even moving her territory entirely – as the lion pride down in the south has grown in strength while the northern pride has split and the lions around us are more scattered. Cheetah are appreciably weaker than lion or hyena. When challenged by lion or hyena, cheetah tend to run for their lives and, even though they are fast, they can still be caught out. We certainly appreciate this beautiful female cheetah bringing her cubs into our area and hope she will stay.
