Research overview: intraguild predation between felids and canids

A survey of the lethal interactions between cats and dogs that share prey and space, a major structuring force in carnivore communities. Lions and hyenas kill wild dogs and cheetahs; pumas and coyotes, lynx and coyotes, and leopards and jackals engage in mutual killing and competition. This overview synthesizes the body-size and diet-overlap rules that predict when intraguild predation is intense, the asymmetries that make subordinate species suffer, and the behavioral avoidance that mitigates risk. It considers how intraguild predation shapes the abundance, distribution and activity of subordinate carnivores and can propagate to their prey through mesopredator dynamics. The topic links the felid and canid guilds and is central to understanding coexistence and suppression among sympatric predators.