Female Energy Demands

Females live alone until they have their cubs. Fifty percent of mature males are solitary as well. While living alone has its advantages, there is also a downside. Solitary cheetahs often lose their food to scavengers. Solitary cheetahs also must spend more time being vigilant against predators such as leopards. Imagine being solitary while you are pregnant and trying to run down prey.

• What do you think a female does for food when she is near the end of her pregnancy and is too heavy to hunt?
• What do you think a female does for food after the cubs are born?

Lactating females need twice as much food as a nonlactating female. At a minimum, a lactating female needs 1.5 to 2.0 kg of meat a day. If the amount of food falls below 1.5 kg per day, milk production is curtailed and she will begin to mobilize muscle and fat tissue.

• Can you name a human dysfunction where a person will mobilize muscle and fat?

If there is not enough food to produce milk, the mother will abandon the litter.

Cubs also need to be fed, even after they are done nursing. Young cheetahs are poor hunters. What do you think the energy demands are a female feeding her cubs?