Carried to safety.

[Marc Mol]

Just back from another amazing Serengeti experience, with one highlight being this special image.

Early morning, 6.55am and the sun yet to poke it's head up, mum carries her remaining cub, (1 of 2 left) after Hyena sadly killed 4 of her then 6 the previous night. :e3

Here in the Serengeti, cheetah cub survival rate is just 1 in 20 and sadly this horrendous statistic proved accurate as this mother also went on to lose her remaining two cubs in another 2 days time.

Why is it that some mothers have more luck in raising 1, 2 or more cubs out of the 6/8 that she delivers? Is it luck and good timing, possibly, but one has to consider that some mothers, regardless of how many litters they deliver, are simply not good mothers.

With just *6500 cheetah left in the world, and with such a narrow gene pool, will this be the first of Africa's big cats to vanish from the wild?

*These are statistics from the current Serengeti Cheetah Research.

Nikon D5
Nikkor 180-400 f/4 E FL VR
f/4
1/1000s
ISO2000@ 380mm.

Bean bag front pax seat, small crop for comp, TK adj's, curves, levels, in ACR & PS CC'19

Cheers
Marc

[Jonathan Ashton]

Wow i really had no idea cheetah could carry so many cubs, I thought 3-4 was considered a large litter. I like the image but the problem for me is that the cub is obscuring a little too much of the mother's face. I appreciate the cheetah probably did not respond to requests for ideal positioning, you did well with the opportunity you were given. I would possibly consider brightening the mother's eyes a tiny bit, this may help increase her presence as it were.

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Hi Marc, what a great sighting. I would have loved to witness it. Pity that the survival rates are so low and to top it the cheetahs are kept as pets by the affluent in the Middle East. Good opportunity well utilised and captured. I know the face is a bit obscured but the little cub makes up for it.

[John Mack]

This tells a story even if a sad one. Really like how the cheetahs match the environment with those earth tones. Composition looks dead on. Of course the little one being carried is another big plus. I watched a documentary about cheetahs once. I remember correctly lions ate a good number of the young.

[Marc Mol]

Many thanks Jon, Sanjeev & John for your positive comments.


I remember correctly lions ate a good number of the young.

Whilst lions (and even leopard) are responsible for their share of cub deaths, it's primarily Hyena, then Jackal (for small cubs) that sadly take a greater share.:e3

[Mike Poole]

Fantastic frame Marc, beautifully framed, and the moment captured is just superb - those piercing eyes of the mother and the expression on the cubs face really make it for me. Sad story but great picture

Mike

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Marc you are a really lucky guy .... you come around with lots of great stuff ...every time !!!
Really like the behavioural aspect in the image .... !!!
Nice and clean shot .... Top notch !!! Lovely colors and good tonal range ...... maybe a tad more sharpening :w3.

TFS and i enjoyed viewing this frame ..... soooooo much !!!

Andreas

[haseeb badar]

Hi Marc — Can’t agree more with Andreas , super sighting and a lovely frame. Certainly a tad more sharpening won’t harm at all .
loved it.

TFS !