Hunting behaviour

Factors affecting hunting success, such as detection of prey, distances from which prey was charged and chased, and escape tactics of prey, were studied. Overall hunting success was 33.4 %. Hares were easier to catch than springhares, but springhares provided a larger meal and were more abundant. There was higher hunting success for steenbok and duiker than for springbok, and springbok hunts were energetically more expensive. However, this was offset by springbok providing a larger amount of food per kill. The amount of meat eaten from gemsbok calves and adult ostrich was similar, but ostrich were more vigilant and difficult to approach and less common than gemsbok. There were no differences in overall hunting success between cheetah demographic groups. The benefit of cooperative hunting to coalition males was that it enabled them to kill larger prey and allowed females with cubs and sibling groups to hone young cheetahs’ hunting skills.