Rosetta and her first litter

08/28/2019

While raising cubs, cheetah mothers have to find secure places where the family can hide, rest, hunt and eat. The larger the cubs become, the more exercises they carry out in order to sustain good physical condition and improve various skills important for the survival. When the large prey is not available in the area, the mother looks out for a small prey and encourages cubs to hunt by their own. Daily snacks support cheetah cubs until the next proper meal. By eating a little, the female retains desire to hunt again. Six year old Rosetta is raising her first litter, spending most of her time in the northern part of the Serengeti, away from multitudinous disturbing vehicles. Her 11-month-old cubs practice hunting opportunistically. Recently, Rosetta spent over 2 hours watching a family of Thomson gazelles (male, female and the fawn) and finally made a decision to scare off a fawn for her cubs to hunt. She started eating together with them, teaching them to hold the prey and eat with keeping vigilant.