Research overview: ambush versus pursuit hunting modes in felids

A survey of the two principal felid hunting strategies, stalk-and-ambush used by most cats and the high-speed pursuit of the cheetah, and their ecological consequences. Ambush predators rely on cover to approach within striking distance before a short rush, favoring habitats with concealment and shaping the landscape of fear, whereas the cheetah's cursorial pursuit demands open terrain and imposes high energetic costs and vulnerability to kleptoparasitism. This overview synthesizes how hunting mode influences habitat selection, prey choice, success rates and competition, and how morphology aligns with strategy. It connects hunting mode to the strength and spatial structure of predator effects on prey behavior. The topic frames a fundamental axis of felid predation that links anatomy, behavior and ecology.