For me, cheetahs are the most beautiful of all the cats in the Mara. I am especially drawn to their exotic facial markings and eyes. Their speed and hunting skills are a thrill to watch and photograph. Every time I have gone, I have been lucky to see many sightings of cheetahs and have seen several hunts. A few of them have stood out from the crowd and have made quite a name for themselves.
Malaika was one of the few that became very famous. She was a female cheetah who successfully raised eight litters in the Mara. She was born in 2007 from the female Serena, who died in 2012. The name Malaika means queen; a title that she has surely earned. I am not exactly certain why this particular cheetah has captured my heart but she has— and in a big cat way.
In March of 2018 stories of Malaika’s death started to surface. The specifics still remain a mystery, but she is believed to have drowned or been eaten by crocs while crossing the Olore Orok River. Malaika’s caring nature towards her cubs along with her excellent hunting skills have made her legendary.
In my series below, I photographed one of Malaika’s cubs trying to perfect his hunting skills. Malaika just sat under a tree and watched-never offering to help. The young cheetah could not take down the young wildebeest but certainly got an “A” for effort. The wildebeest herd kicked him out soon after…
The mortality rate for cheetah cubs in the wild is about 70 percent or more. They often fall prey to lion, hyena, jackal and even birds of prey when left behind by mom while she hunts for food. A cheetah mom is a single mom in that she hunts, protects, and cares for her young alone. It i s next to impossible to ward off all of the different prey at every turn. Malaika is said to have raised five cubs to adulthood —which is no easy feat. According to the Mara Meru Cheetah Project:
On 24 February 2018, Malaika met with the Fast Five*, who kept her for 24 hours. Her 20-months old sons were also around watching behavior of the 5 males and following them every time when the group was pursuing a female. As Malaika was not in estrus, no mating occurred. However, cheetahs are induced ovulators, and meeting with excited males could have induced estrus. On 1 March, Malaika displayed typical behavior of a cheetah in heat – she was intensively rolling over and marking objects, and one of her sons was expecting her marks with interest. At that time, she did not let cubs approach close to her. In order to avoid inbreeding, females in estrus leave their offspring, and Malaika did it before. Most likely she left cubs to look for a mate. Malaka’s sons are adult enough to take care of themselves. However, they were not ready to be left by the mother because of various benefits which living in a group provides to cheetahs.
The fast five, the coalition, the brothers, the fab five, etc… are a series of names given to five famous male cheetahs that have formed an alliance allowing them to successfully hunt together. They have been together since 2016 and it is said that three of them are brothers and the other two may be brothers but have different parents.
The five are extremely powerful together and fascinating to watch. During my time in the Mara watching these amazing creatures hunt, I have observed that one of the fast five does not really participate in the actual killing. I’ve watched as the other four have struggled to bring down a strong Wildebeest while one is just hanging out- as more of a look out. I imagine having a look out is vitally important while the others do the actual taking down and killing. I have seen this behavior several times and have captured it in several images. I am not entirely sure if it is the same one each time.
In the above image of the “fast five” notice the one cheetah looking away.
This female cheetah has six cubs and it is vitally important that she hunts successfully.
They are extremely tolerant of their cubs behavior-it’s a good thing, these little ones can be quite pesty!
Note their long lanky legs. Cheetah often sit on termite mounds to get a higher perspective for hunting and looking out for predators.
A very young cheetah cub still has its full mantle.
When clients and friends write to me and talk about having Mara fever, I know they are not talking about getting sick as I have it too. They are talking about the need to get back to Kenya and spend more time with these beautiful creatures.