The cubs loose this conspicious coloration about 3 months of age when they are sufficiently developed to successfully escape from potential predators. Field studies indicate that cheetahs are not highly sociable cats, outside the relationship between mothers and cubs , although some observations indicate that they may be more sociable in areas where competition from other predators is low, or in areas where they would not be at a disadvantage from the increased visibility of group living. Male cheetahs, more gregarious than females, often live in permanent groups usually composed of littermates, and are nomadic. Without exclusive territories to defend, the characteristic scent marking by individual cheetahs appears to be, but not entirely, due to spacing behavior on the part of the cheetah. Studies indicate that cheetahs use scent marking only to avoid contact with eachother, except when males identify females in estrous.
Cheetahs have a much higher rate of reproduction than other big cats.
Cubs are born after a gestation period of 90 to 95 days, with litters ranging from 3 to 6 cubs. The newborn cubs are helpless and blind, weighing about one half pound, but developing more quickly than other large cats. Their eyes have opened after one week and they have begun to walk by two weeks. When very young, the cubs remain quietly hidden when the mother goes off to hunt. It is at these times that the cubs are particularly vulnerable to wandering groups of lions and hyena's who are often attracted to the hiding places by smell.