A lovely start to the month with a female cheetah found in Phukwe Pan with three cubs. They have been lucky to avoid the lions that have been frequenting the area, and the mother cheetah has her work cut out for her to raise all three offspring to adulthood.
Speaking of lions, it is likely that there are going to be even more on the way – the Tau Pan pride adults were seen mating early in the month, as well as the two male “intruders” who were seen mating with the younger females from the original pride. This could lead to a lot of offspring, and a lot of territorial disputes as to who controls which area, and which cubs get to survive. The mating continued on and off for around two weeks – an unusually long time!
One of the younger males of the pride has quite a reputation for being rather lazy. Not only is he not being permitted (or perhaps it is simply not being bothered?) to mate, but whenever a car arrives to admire his wonderful looks, he does not even raise his head or open an eye at the intrusion. Obviously, sleep is very important for conservation of energy for lions, yet other individuals seem a little more active than this one. He managed to stagger awake and over to feed on an oryx carcass when the rest of the pride pulled one down, however.
