Research overview: lunar and nocturnal effects on felid hunting

A survey of how darkness and the lunar cycle influence the hunting success and behavior of largely nocturnal cats. Many felids hunt more successfully on dark nights when reduced visibility favors the stalker over visually vigilant prey, and lions and other cats often shift activity and kill rates with moon phase, while prey correspondingly adjust vigilance and movement around bright nights. This overview synthesizes evidence on moonlight-dependent predation success, the resulting lunar-phobic behavior of prey, and how nocturnality shapes predator-prey encounters. It connects sensory ecology and activity timing to the outcome of hunts and to temporal landscapes of fear. The topic illustrates how the light environment structures the timing of felid predation and the antipredator scheduling of their prey.