Maternal Care

Female cheetahs invest considerable time and energy into maternal care. They nurse their young for about 4 months and then care for them for another year. Young cheetah eyesight is poor until the age of 10 months. The cubs are also very poor hunters. They chase inappropriate prey and do not attempt to crouch or hide as they approach their prey. On the Serengeti it is estimated that they do not become proficient hunters until they are 3 years of age.

• Why do you think it takes 3 years for a cheetah to become a proficient hunter?

Mother cheetahs spend considerable time being vigilant against predators. The amount of time a mother is vigilant decreases as the cubs get older even though the cubs are not very good at hunting or seeing predators.

• Why do you think the female becomes less vigilant before the cubs are able to care for themselves?

Female cheetahs also become more proficient at catching larger prey since it must be shared with the cubs. The larger the litter size, the greater effort expended in an attempt to catch larger prey. However, cheetahs will eat smaller prey such as hares and young warthogs.

• Can you think of reasons why this correlation exists between litter size and prey size?

The mother shares much of her catch with her cubs. As the cubs get older, they need more food and they may eat most of the catch.

• What physical and physiological changes do you think will occur if the mother shares most, if not all, of her prey with her cubs?