Originally Posted by
Tzigone
I think it's uncommon for cheetahs to chase away lions from their cubs. And most cheetah moms never raise a cub to adulthood (read up on supermoms - cool, but very much the exception). And Cheetahs often get their kill stolen by lions or leopards where they coexist because cheetahs are, as you said, not built for a fight (and injury that keeps them from running is likely death). Nonetheless, Cheetahs are not formidable fighters. Formidable hunters, okay, but they are mostly a threat to the defenseless and don't generally take risky prey. Black-footed cats have a higher hunt success rate, but they are tiny and adorable and unsuited to villain-theme unless TPTB want to play up the innocuous look for creepiness factor.