The Aitong Hills in southwest Kenya, with its rolling grasslands and rock kopjes, are the quintessential wild Africa millions of people around the world imagine to exist. After a long day in the bush scouting for predators and prey, Thomas D. Mangelsen happened upon this tender interaction between a mother cheetah and her cubs.
Cheetahs are the fastest land predators in the world, capable of chasing down gazelles which themselves possess sports-car speed. In this photograph, Bathtime in Maasailand - Cheetahs, a mother is home with her litter after a successful afternoon of stalking antelope and delivering dinner to her offspring. With supper over, she washes the cubs down before tucking them in for the night.
“The bush is a dangerous place for any youngster during its growing years,” Mangelsen said. “When you witness such displays of familial bonding, you realize that the key thread woven into the circle of life is not fear, but love.”
Cheetahs are the fastest land predators in the world, capable of chasing down gazelles which themselves possess sports-car speed. In this photograph, Bathtime in Maasailand - Cheetahs, a mother is home with her litter after a successful afternoon of stalking antelope and delivering dinner to her offspring. With supper over, she washes the cubs down before tucking them in for the night.
“The bush is a dangerous place for any youngster during its growing years,” Mangelsen said. “When you witness such displays of familial bonding, you realize that the key thread woven into the circle of life is not fear, but love.”
