Living with the enemy: avoidance of hyenas and lions by cheetahs

In this follow-up, Durant used experimental playbacks and detailed observation to show that Serengeti cheetahs actively avoid lions and spotted hyenas at fine spatial and temporal scales, moving away from competitor cues and adjusting their behavior at kills. Female cheetahs with cubs were especially cautious, reflecting the high cost of intraguild predation on offspring. The study provided mechanistic, behavioral evidence for the competition-refuge hypothesis, demonstrating that subordinate predators perceive and respond to the immediate presence of dominant competitors. It remains a key reference for risk-driven space use among carnivores and for understanding the behavioral toll that dominant predators impose on cheetahs beyond outright kleptoparasitism and killing.