Research overview: prey vigilance and anti-predator behavior toward cats

An overview of the behavioral defenses ungulates and other prey deploy against felid predators, from vigilance scanning to alarm signaling and habitat avoidance. Because cats are stealthy ambush hunters, prey invest heavily in detecting them early, and the form and intensity of vigilance vary with cover, group size, reproductive state and perceived risk. This survey synthesizes studies of how prey adjust vigilance to lion, leopard, puma and tiger presence, the trade-off between watching for predators and foraging, and how anti-predator behavior scales up to landscape-of-fear effects on distribution and population dynamics. It connects individual behavior to the nonconsumptive impacts of cats. The topic is fundamental to understanding the behavioral arms race between stalking felids and the prey that must detect them.