A Cheetah’s legacy
The fastest mother on Earth
The storm may rage around you, and the waves may crash over you, but a mother will always stand tall, a lighthouse to guide you to safety. A mother will always show you the way.
Petrus van Eck
Family. All Mammals are born into one. The requirement to be a mammal, states that a female gives birth to live young, but also feeds her young milk, via mammary glands. Most mammal mothers also care for their young for extended periods after birth. This is different from other classes of Animalia such as reptiles where most offspring fend for themselves after breaking out of their respective eggs, most notably snakes and monitor lizards. (Pythons however will coil around and protect their eggs and so will crocodiles). Mammals however need the added protection a mother offers. Most are born altricial, meaning blind, helpless, and unable to fend for themselves. Only with the love and care of a mother, can they become strong and successful. Only through her, can they grow old, and write their own story.
But there’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begin.
Mitch Albom
A Mother’s dreams
At first, she appeared on top of the hill, amongst the rocks and trees. Beautiful Cheetah mother, Njozi. Njozi is a Swahili word meaning “Dreams”. It was the first time I had seen her. She was a good 150 meters away. Moments later I began seeing little bodies moving around her. From beyond the late afternoon shadows, came 5 of the cutest animals you will ever see. Her 5 cubs, no older than 3 months, were playfully moving between the rocks. After a few minutes, she began moving down from the cliff face, towards the road where we were parked. She was coming right toward us. She moved with such grace and purpose. She took it all in stride as she glowed with confidence. Lacking size and strength, cheetahs are naturally nervous cats, but not this mother. Protected within the confines of the Rietvlei Nature reserve, where she is the apex predator, she is safe, and so is her legacy.
Adapt to survive
Newborn cheetah cubs are incredibly vulnerable, perhaps the most vulnerable of all big cat cubs. They don’t enjoy the physical protection of lion cubs, shielded by a powerful pride of lionesses. They are also much more exposed than leopard cubs, who have the luxury of a rocky, dense habitat as protection. Cheetahs thrive best in open grassland and savannah, but this also poses a risk for them. Cubs can be boisterous and can the number born can range between 1 and 8. This tends to draw the attention of larger predators like lions and hyenas. Cheetahs do not fare well in areas with these large competitors. But cheetahs perhaps have a secret weapon.
Cheetah cubs are born with a white strip of hair running down their backs, and according to many, this bears much significance. It is said this makes them resemble the incredibly fierce bouncer of the bush, the honey badger. Wrapped in skin as thick as that of a Cape Buffalo, sharp claws and a no-nonsense temperament, most animals, including lions agree, more often than not, that it isn’t worth the risk to tackle a honey badger. In nature, however, nothing is a given. In areas with larger predators, cheetah cub mortality is said to exceed 90%. Very few make it to adulthood, and that is why it is so special to see Njozi and her cubs doing so remarkably well.
Golden cats on a golden morning
Over the next half dozen visits, I have been fortunate enough to see them on 5 more occasions. Another of these magical moments happened on a very cold winter’s morning. I had a strong suspicion that the mother had hunted a buck in an area on the North-western side of the reserve, the morning before. She would not need to eat fast, since there are few challengers for their kills within the reserve. The only real threat is a large group of jackals but these animals usually coordinate in pairs, and I suspect they would not gang up in numbers to drive the cheetah off her kill. At 6 am, before the break of dawn, I decided to go search for her in the before-mentioned area since I strongly believed she would still be in the vicinity. What happened next will stick with me forever. As I approached the suspected spot, I saw a murder of crows flocking around a tree. A hundred meters to the right I heard and subsequently saw a Wattled lapwing distress calling, as it circled its nest below. The signs were there. This was the spot.
When you look into your mother’s eyes, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.
Mitch Albom
Just after 7 am, I found her. Cheetah mother Njozi, perhaps 50 meters away, glowing in the Highveld sun. Standing tall and proud and surrounded by her cubs. All 5 still accounted for. She started moving across the grassland, parallel to me. This movement turned diagonal as she inched closer and closer to the road with each step. In less than a minute she was on the tar. Her cubs playfully tagging along behind her. They proceeded up the road, into the radiant morning sun. Every few seconds they would look back at the few photographers following them in vehicles. Out of respect for the animals, we never got closer than 30 meters. They would lie down in the middle of the road. The cubs would play-fight as mom took it all in. The mother would start moving again and although most would move with her, there was always a straggler that needed to be called to order.
A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take.
Gaspard Mermillod
A Mother’s purpose
I am not Dr. Doolittle, thus I could not read her mind, nor speak to her, but I could say with the utmost confidence from seeing her that morning, that her cubs became the main reason for her existence. She was the epitome of patience and affection. A cat truly in her element. I followed them for the next few minutes as they walked another 200 meters before turning left into the long, pale, winter grass, and disappeared almost instantly. I knew they were not coming back out and I finally put my Canon camera down. In the cool morning air, with Crimson-breasted shrikes chirping in the thorn trees to my right, and a dazzle of Zebras happily grazing to my left, I was able to breathe, and collect my thoughts on the moment which had just passed. To see a family of these endangered cats up close is not something I take for granted. Every cheetah is precious and deserves protection. These cubs are fortunate as they receive it from conservation authorities, but also from their loving mother.
Even in animals, love conquers all
Sometimes I look at Njozi and think to myself that she has the weight of the survival of her entire species on her shoulders, a responsibility she shares with every other cheetah mother in the African wild. But this is not her burden to bear, but ours, as we have driven our wild cats to this point. Luckily she is not aware of the dire plight of her species, and she can simply continue living the life a cheetah mother should. Protected and free from persecution, Njozi can raise her cubs and enjoy every moment of the journey. Over this time, she will teach them when to chase, but also when to stay put. She will protect them as best she can, and love them with every ounce of her fast-beating cheetah heart. She will ensure they become the most successful cheetahs they could possibly be.
I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside.
Whitney Houston
The innocence of youth
Over time, the urgency to feed 5 hungry, growing mouths will drive this mother to hunt daily. She is very successful and her cubs benefit from this incredible hunting ability. They will soon be strong and swift enough to join her on hunts. Until then let us appreciate the innocence of their youth, for when they are roughly 2 years old, they will be separated from their mother to carve out their own existence in a different space. Some would think it cruel, to separate this family, but in any natural setting, the mother will move off after this time, allowing her offspring the freedom they perhaps have yearned for. Females will become solitary, finding their way in the world. Brothers may form coalitions amongst themselves or other unrelated males, ensuring hunting success and strength to carry on their own lineage.
Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother.
This is but one example of the beauty of a family bond in nature. A bond that is kept together by a mother’s love. In Africa, we are often guilty of becoming attached to charismatic and endangered animals on a very personal level. We affectionately name them and we become invested in their journey. Perhaps it is because we have realized that in the world of today, these animals need us to ensure their species survives. Njozi will never acknowledge it, nor will she ever even know it. Her destiny is linked to ours, yet she lives like it isn’t. Not only does she run like the wind, but she runs with a free heart. She runs with purpose and she runs for life. She runs for her family.
Dedicated to my mom, for without her I would not be where I am today. I am a qualified Nature Guide in large part to her, and it is something I will soon be invested in full time. My dream is for her to see me achieve that. My mother is my heart, my mother is my home.
Thank you Randy Runtsch for setting this exciting story challenge. Baby animals bring with them the excitement of new beginnings and a positive future.
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