Baby cheetahs weigh just 300 grams when they are born. Their coat already has the typical black spots, and their face the unmistakable tear drop stripes.
Baby cheetahs are very helpless and only open their eyes after two weeks. When their mother is out hunting, they are completely defenceless against hungry lions and hyenas. The best possible camouflage is the only chance they have. A long, silver mane helps them here. It stands up like a mohican hairstyle and looks like long blades of grass from afar. Baby cheetahs learn to hunt for themselves when they are around six months old. After one or two years, the little ones are out of the woods and can fend for themselves.