Hand-rearing the brothers, teaching them the life skills cheetahs need to survive, and observing the cubs as they pass through key stages of their development, Simon’s efforts to rehabilitate the cheetahs and reintroduce them to the world of wild cheetahs is filled with delight but also sadness. Simon becomes more deeply attached to the orphans, making difficult, yet critical decisions that determine their fate. When tragedy strikes, Simon is overcome with emotion, but has to make clear decisions for the welfare of Toki.

To order a copy of The Cheetah Orphans, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for The Cheetah Orphans was originally posted November 2007.

The big cats of Africa have always been favored subjects of wildlife filmmakers. But as little as 15 years ago, no one had captured the unforgettable image of a leopard in its ghostly nocturnal stalk. Viewers had never seen intimate portrayals of the sleek and elusive serval, or witnessed the nighttime romps of the beautiful black-eared caracal.

The team of Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett filled those gaps with a series of spectacular breakthrough films in the 1990s. Among the first to apply infrared light and night vision goggles to wildlife studies, they combined technology with intrepid determination and a strong dose of luck, illuminating the cats we hardly knew, and giving us fresh insights into those we only thought we knew, such as lions and cheetahs.

Join the team of Newman and Barrett as they pursue unique and amazing footage of Africa’s five most spectacular cats: cheetahs, leopards, servals, caracals, and lions in Chasing Big Cats. 

To order a copy of Chasing Big Cats, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for Chasing Big Cats was originally posted November 2004.

Who can resist the magnetic allure of a baby? The presence of little ones of any species invariably generates instant attention and concern from onlookers. In fact, it seems that both humans and animals are hard-wired to find youngsters adorable. The practical and essential reasons why the very young have an ability to play on our heart strings are explored in Baby Tales.

Baby Tales demonstrates how young animals learn and develop, and examines the role of “cuteness” in helping to forge and solidify bonds between mother and offspring. Many newborns in the animal kingdom are entirely dependent upon their mothers — and sometimes their fathers, as well — for survival. And, especially in the wild, nurturing and protecting the young can require enormous effort, courage, and self-sacrifice. The cuteness of offspring creates a strong visual bond that helps evoke a caring response in parents, which must spend months, if not years, feeding, protecting, and teaching their young to survive on their own.

To order a copy of Baby Tales, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for Baby Tales was originally posted March 2001.

The cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal.

The cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal. As the world’s fastest land animal, cheetahs are the odds-on favorite in almost any footrace. After all, they can accelerate to freeway speeds in just a step or two. But in the dry scrublands of southern Africa, the fast felines are falling behind in the most important contest they’ve ever entered: the race for survival.

Luckily, as NATURE’s Cheetahs in a Hot Spot shows, people are stepping in to make sure that these exceptional cats survive to reach the finish line. And along the way, cheetah lovers are coming to understand these athletic sprinters better than ever before.

Cheetahs in a Hot Spot takes viewers to Namibia, one of the world’s richest cheetah habitats, for a remarkable look at these graceful hunters. It follows six gangly young cheetahs as they come of age in the desert wilderness of Etosha National Park, where they learn the essential hunting and social skills that will enable them to rear families of their own. But the documentary also captures the sobering challenges that other cheetahs face on nearby livestock ranches, where farmers routinely trap and kill the cats to reduce attacks on their herds. And the NATURE special profiles the courageous work of cheetah rescuer Lise Hanssen, who is creating alternatives to the deadly rivalry between rancher and predator.

While best known as a fleet runner able to sprint short distances at up to 60 miles per hour, it was the cheetah’s elegant spotted coat that caught the eye of ancient civilizations. Indeed, “cheetah” means “spotted one” in the Hindi language. But while many people think of cheetahs as being close relatives of the other bigs cats, such as lions and tigers, they are actually quite different.

Cheetahs evolved earlier than other large cats.

One difference is that cheetahs evolved much earlier than other large cats, arising from a cat-like mammal that lived about 4 million years ago. As a result, their bodies are different from lions, tigers, and other great cats in many ways. Cheetah claws, for instance, don’t retract like a house cat’s, in part because the cheetah needs the extra traction during high-speed sprints. Similarly, cheetahs don’t growl. They hiss or give a bird-like chirp instead, because they lack the vocal anatomy to roar.

Most importantly, cheetah bodies are uniquely built for speed. Their small heads offer little wind resistance, while their exceptionally long legs allow them to take huge strides. During sprints, the cheetah spine acts like a giant spring, storing energy that can be released in explosive surges. And the cheetah’s enlarged heart, lungs, and liver help deliver bursts of oxygen and energy, while specially ridged foot pads help provide traction, much like a car’s tire. Such adaptations “make cheetahs the elite race cars of the animal world,” says Don Person, a Dutch biologist who has studied cheetahs in East Africa. “They are speed demons.”

Cheetahs also have a distinct family life. Mothers typically have from one to six cubs, which are born blind and toothless. By five weeks old, however, their eyes are open and the young cats have developed a taste for fresh meat. But the cubs won’t start hunting on their own until they are nearly two years old, when their mother leaves them. Once on their own, brothers and sisters will go their separate ways. Females live relatively solitary lives, seeking out territories in which they raise their own families. Males, in contrast, sometimes hang together, with brothers forging alliances for hunting and attracting mates. “Working together, male groups can bring down bigger prey and increase the odds of having an offspring that carries on their line,” notes Person. “In contrast, females alone carry the burden of raising and feeding their young.”

Not surprisingly, a cheetah’s life in the fast lane is relatively short. Most wild cheetahs live less than 10 years, and many cubs never make it to adulthood, killed by disease, starvation, or attack by lions and hyenas. In captivity, however, they often reach a dozen years old or more. “It’s not an easy life,” says Person. “A foot injury that might just slow a human runner,” for instance, “might be the beginning of the end for a cheetah. They literally depend on their legs for survival.”

To order a copy of Cheetahs in a Hot Spot, please visit the NATURE Shop.
Online content for Cheetahs in a Hot Spot was originally posted February 2000.