Cheetah update – 19 August 2012

Cheetah photo taken by camera trap

Although cheetah sightings have not been as prolific as we have had in the past, we have had our first cheetah photographs on camera trap! Cheetahs are particularly difficult to capture on camera traps as, unlike other large cats, they do not tend to use animal paths.

The two cheetahs photographed, a mother and her young sub-adult female, are much more shy than the other resident cheetahs, and only a few people have had a chance to view them at a distance. From the photo we can see that she was injured on her right hip. The injury may have resulted from a narrow escape from a superior predator such as a lion, but the scar shows that it has healed nicely and she does not seem to suffer from it. Cheetahs may fall victim to other predators – lions will try to catch and kill cheetahs if they see them. Hyenas, leopard and wild dogs have also been known to kill cheetahs.

Ali Brassine

Cheetah Researcher

The Northern Tuli Cheetah Project