Curiosity

Cheetah cubs are entirely reliant on their mother for nutrition and protection, so she must make a successful kill every day to sustain them. They aren't well camouflaged when they're born and can be seen from a great distance, so the mother goes to great lengths to conceal them, periodically moving the den site to minimize scent tracking. She uses vantage points, such as termite mounds, to scan the environment for predators, as well as to keep an eye out for an easy meal. Despite the efforts of the mother, as many as nine out of ten cheetah cubs don't reach adulthood. They're not good at identifying danger and tend to scatter when threatened, making it difficult for the mother to defend them all at once. Large pack hunters, such as hyenas and lions, pose a major threat to cheetah cubs.

It was a beautiful, shiny morning on day 4 of my trip and our guide started driving, having info in his hand that there was a Cheetah spotted with her 2 cubs. It was such a visual treat to see cubs playing on the field in the golden-red morning light. Cubs were so active jumping, running, and climbing trees. Mother was so conscious and kept checking her surroundings for any possible threat. Suddenly a Hyena appeared on the spot and the mother came to the rescue while chasing him away and started moving from the location. Her cubs were so active and continued playing and climbing the trees. We followed them for almost 3 hours and this image is one of the many that I captured from the morning session.