🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This long-term study of cheetahs on the Serengeti plains provided the definitive account of cheetah social organization, combining years of observation of known individuals. It documented the species'…

Caro, T. M. · University of Chicago Press · 1994

Cheetah cubs suffer extremely high mortality, much of it inflicted by lions and spotted hyenas. This overview synthesizes research documenting that on the open plains the majority of cheetah cubs die…

The cheetah's celebrated speed is the centerpiece of a hunting strategy built on daytime pursuit of fleet prey. This overview synthesizes research on how cheetahs stalk to within range before launchin…

Cheetahs specialize on small to medium antelope, with gazelles forming the dietary core across much of their range. This overview synthesizes kill and scat studies showing that cheetahs favor prey the…

Efforts to restore cheetahs to parts of their former range, including the introduction of African cheetahs to India, have raised ecological questions about translocation. This overview synthesizes the…

Much of the world's remaining cheetah population lives outside protected areas on farmland, particularly in Namibia, where the ecology differs from the famous plains populations. This overview synthes…

Cheetahs are largely diurnal, hunting in the cooler parts of the day, a pattern shaped partly by the need to avoid dominant nocturnal competitors. This overview synthesizes research showing that cheet…

The cheetah's high-speed hunting strategy raises questions about how heat and energy constrain its foraging. This overview synthesizes research on the physiology of cheetah pursuit, including the rapi…

Big cats not only compete for prey but kill one another, and intraguild predation shapes the structure of carnivore communities. This overview synthesizes research on how dominant cats such as lions a…

Cheetahs lose a significant share of their kills to larger carnivores, a major cost of their position in the savanna guild. This overview synthesizes research showing that lions, hyenas, and even leop…

As the largest African cat, the lion exerts strong intraguild pressure on cheetahs and leopards. This overview synthesizes research on how lions kill cheetah cubs and steal kills, forcing cheetahs int…

Male cheetahs frequently form coalitions, most often of littermate brothers, that cooperate to hold territories and compete for mates. This overview synthesizes research showing that coalition males d…

Cheetahs use prominent trees, logs, and termite mounds as communal scent-marking sites that function as information hubs. This overview synthesizes research, especially from Namibian farmland, showing…

Where several large cats share a landscape, they coexist by partitioning resources along axes of prey size, habitat, and activity. This overview synthesizes research across continents showing how tige…

Female cheetahs lead solitary lives and, unlike territorial males, range over very large areas that track the movements of their prey. This overview synthesizes research, especially from the Serengeti…

Cheetahs are famous for their exceptionally low genetic diversity, the legacy of one or more ancient population bottlenecks. This overview synthesizes research documenting the species' remarkable gene…

The Asiatic cheetah survives only as a tiny relict population in the deserts of Iran, the last of a subspecies that once ranged across southwest Asia and India. This overview synthesizes what is known…

Cheetahs naturally occur at low densities and require large areas, a consequence of competition, prey, and their hunting strategy. This overview synthesizes research showing that suppression by lions…