Pinpointing those days is not easy. Biologists look for changes in behavior. A male cheetah might make a particular sound. A female might poke her head out of an enclosure. Researchers in San Diego will let a male loose in a in a female's empty pen.
Females excrete estrogen in their fecal matter.
So by smelling that, the male know if she's in heat or coming into heat. One male sprayed the pen, but not enough to indicate that the conditions are right. The female may not be ready to mate, or she may not be his type. Both male and females are choosy in selecting a mate. Once cheetah cubs reach about two years old, the females and males are separated One male, Mesigh, did mate, fathering cubs born to Bindura last August.