Stalk and chase: how hunt stages affect hunting success in Serengeti cheetah

Predation is a complex behavioural process and it is only through identifying the different factors influencing each stage that is it possible to understand the evolutionary processes driving the arms race between predators and prey. Using a long-term data set from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, we investigated the importance of demographic, environmental, and prey-based factors in influencing the success of hunt stages of a stalking predator, the cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus. The chase and overall hunting success were influenced by the age of the cheetah and prey size, while the effect of habitat features could only be seen in the stalk. Whether a stalk turned into a chase was dependent on prey size, and in the dry season on proximity to rivers. Contrary to expectation, the hunger level of the cheetah, the presence of cubs, and the type of habitat where the hunt took place had no effect on hunting success. Different factors thus affect the success of individual hunt stages, and the predation risk of prey is influenced not only by its size, the habitat it is in, and the age of the its predator, but also by hunt stage. This reveals an increased complexity of predation risk that has implications for predator and prey dynamics, especially in systems with multiple predator and prey species.