Cheetah Speed Trap

All female cheetahs tend to live solitary lives, and as Nzuri steps out onto the plains of the Serengeti she is the ultimate underdog. All the predators here vie for the same prey, but all will kill each other, or each other’s babies if they get the chance. Competition is fierce, to put it mildly.

It sounds like a mismatch, but Nzuri has one astounding trump card up her sleeve. Speed. She runs fast, she eats fast, and she keeps moving. If she stops, her enemies will catch up with her, and that’s a confrontation she cannot win.

A cheetah female is often maligned – sidelined by a brutish, male-dominated hierarchy. Nzuri may be regal, and beautiful, but she is largely powerless out here on the plains. Lionesses must put up with abusive males, but the pride holds firm. Hyenas have strength in numbers. But cheetah females have almost zero support, even from their own species. Nzuri carries herself well, but she doesn’t trust anyone. It will prove to be the most valuable survival trait she has.

As summer looms, Nzuri readies herself. She must mate to breed, and time everything right for the arrival of the wildebeest. She needs a single male to come knocking – a cheetah coalition could kill her.

She seizes the opportunity to mate and breed, and her goal is to see her full litter through to adulthood. It sounds simple, but it’s not. She’s the lightest, weakest and most timid of the carnivores. Her enemies wait in ambush and even her prey fights back. How can she possibly win the day?