Why Only Few Of Cheetah Cubs Survive To Adulthood?

The growth of a cheetah cub from birth to adulthood is so filled with challenges that its survival rate is alarmingly low. The first major threat is predation. Cheetah cubs are born blind and completely helpless, thus forming easy prey for predators like lions, leopards, hyenas, and even birds of prey like eagles.

Competition for food is another critical aspect affecting the cheetah cubs in their struggle to survive. While cheetahs are considered the fastest land animals, they hardly protect their food from other bigger predators such as lions and hyenas that often steal their kill. The cheetahs must hunt more frequently because of this, which eventually tires the mother and leaves her cubs for very long periods, hence putting them in a state of vulnerability.

Malnutrition also plays a vital role in the challenges cheetah cubs face. Though cheetahs are excellent hunters, they quite often cannot supply sufficient food for themselves and their infants. Due to this scarcity of nutrition, the cubs become weak and prone to diseases, which restricts growth and development in the wild.

Furthermore, cheetahs’ low genetic diversity is due to inbreeding and habitat fragmentation over time. The genetic uniformity that this has caused makes cheetahs susceptible to diseases and less adaptable to the change in surroundings. It hampers the genetic fragility in health and prospects of cubs struggling to survive in an environment unconducive to their needs.

This already unfavorable situation is further exacerbated by humans. Agricultural expansion and other purposes like urbanization result in a huge and serious reduction in the territorial regions available for these animals to live in. With reduced availability of their habitats, exposure of these animals to humans mainly farmers, who consider this animal a threat to the farm animals, results in a counter-killing of the cheetah family population. Such killings do not only kill the adult but also leave the cubs orphaned and exposed and reduce their survival rate grossly.

In a nutshell, from the risks of predation to competition for resources, malnutrition, and genetic vulnerabilities, in addition to human-wildlife conflict, a young cheetah cub lives a life in a balance between survival and extinction, with drastically reduced chances of ever reaching adulthood. To protect these magnificent creatures, conservation efforts must focus on these various threats, such as the protection of their habitats and the coexistence of humans and wildlife. Understanding the complex issues involving these juveniles brings urgency into action to protect one of nature’s most iconic species.