Territory

Female cheetahs are usually solitary after separating from their mother and litter-mates, at about 18 months of age. They hunt alone, keeping away from other cheetahs except to mate.

Cheetahs sometimes have huge home ranges, about 300 square miles (800 square kilometres), especially if they live on the Serengeti Plains, hunting migratory game.

Breeding males are territorial, each one defending an area of 15 to 30 square miles (39 - 78 square kilometres). These areas may be within the females' hunting grounds, but any male intruder is likely to be attacked or even killed, particularly if it crosses the territory of a male coalition i.e. a group of males that live in the same territory, These males are often brothers that have stayed together after separating from their mother at 17 - 23 months. They operate in pairs or trios, and in this way they can hold their territories for a longer time than a single male can. Another advantage of living in coalitions is that they are able to kill larger animals than single hunters.

There are estimated to be only 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild, and their future remains uncertain across their range.