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This book is the story of six years that the authors devoted to the study of an iconic large cat, the cheetah. Their study area was the large, remote, and pristine Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the border of Botswana and South Africa. Their aim here is to relate what they consider to be a fascinating story about the lives of these cats in a different habitat from the one most people associate the cheetah with – a sandy desert rather than a grassy plain. They hope to entertain and inform the reader with what they learnt about the daunting challenges cheetahs face, and the wonderful adaptations
cheetahs have evolved to survive in the competitive world of natural selection.
The book is divided into five parts: Part One gives the background to this adventure; the why, when, where, who and how aspects. Part Two discusses the fundamental question of what cheetahs eat and how they go about obtaining their food; the fascinating evolutionary arms race between predator and prey, some of the behavioural, physiological, and ecological ramifications, as well as the relationships of cheetahs with the other carnivores. Part Three turns to social affairs; the way cheetahs distribute themselves in the landscape, the way they find and choose mates, and the trials and tribulations of
raising a family. In Part Four, the authors switch to more personal and human matters; the challenges of living and working in an isolated and infrastructurally limited environment, and two chapters written by Margie: one on their experiences with the Bushmen, the other relating a selection of memorable incidents, not specifically related to the cheetah study. The final part addresses two practical topics; the first comparing how cheetahs have adapted to two different environments: the lush Serengeti plains and the arid Kalahari, the other giving the authors' perspective on cheetah conservation.
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Part One — Background & Introduction
Chapter 1: The honey badger, the cheetah and the brown hyaena — a ‘road to Damascus’ moment
Chapter 2: The best-laid plans of mice and men — implementation of an idea
Chapter 3: The land of red sand dunes — our home and laboratory
Chapter 4: Adaptation — the bedrock of natural selection
Chapter 5: More than one way to study a cat — combining old and new methods
Chapter 6: The players — getting to know our study animals
Part Two — What's for Dinner?
Chapter 7: Diet — different menus for different social groups
Chapter 8: Predator-prey relationships — an evolutionary arms race
Chapter 9: Hunting larger fare — help is often needed
Chapter 10: Some unusual hunting pursuits — hunger is often (but not always) the motive
Chapter 11: Hunting strategically — an enigma?
Chapter 12: Cheetahs by night — the dangers of dining in the dark
Chapter 13: Foraging efficiency and energy use — cutting-edge technology was a double-edged sword
Chapter 14: The carnivore community — sharing with neighbours
Part Three — Social Affairs
Chapter 15: The land question — movements, home range, socialising and scent marking
Chapter 16: Leaving home — the difficult-to-study but important question of dispersal of the young
Chapter 17: Find and choose your mate — the (not so sexy) sex life of cheetahs
Chapter 18: Female reproduction — the never-ending treadmill
Chapter 19: Bringing up the kids — females are the true heroes
Chapter 20: Brawling boys — love feuds
Chapter 21: Who gets the spoils? — male reproductive success
Chapter 22: Some reflections on communal and physical activities — purring, playing and pandiculating
Part Four — Other Adventures & Experiences
Chapter 23: It was not all beer and skittles — vehicle vulnerabilities
Chapter 24: Life with the Bushmen — bittersweet memories
Chapter 25: Incidents along the way — Kalahari kaleidoscope
Part Five — Practical Questions
Chapter 26: Do cheetahs prefer grassy plains to sandy deserts?
Chapter 27: Conservation — how can we save cheetahs and ecosystems?
