Page 27 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #05

CHEETAHS

often than single cheetahs,” says Anne Hilborn, a cheetah
ecologist at Virginia Tech University in the USA.
Life is hard for cheetahs in areas where more ferocious
predators roam. More than one in 10 kills are taken away
from them by other carnivores, often spotted hyenas or
leopards. By living as a group, coalitions get to spend
more time feeding on a carcass than solitary cheetahs,
and they also spend less time searching for rivals.
Compared with lonesome cheetahs, groups are less
likely to be killed by other predators while eating, too.
Why is it that male cheetahs continue to live in groups
once they are adults, but females don’t? “If you’re a male
cheetah, the main advantage to joining a coalition is
gaining access to territories,” explains
LIFE IS HARD FOR Sarah Durant. “Having a territory
gives you breeding opportunities with
CHEETAHS IN AREAS females.” Meanwhile, females have ate,ate,
e
w
w
ted
li ited wi dows w e t ey caca
ey
t
dows
WHERE MORE FEROCIOUS due to some of their time being taken
up with pregnancy or looking after
PREDATORS ROAM. young. Males don’t have that problem,
and can continue searching for mates
all of their adult life. Good territories
are hard to come by, so males will fight for the best places
A playful cub
gives its mum a that offer access to lots of females.
‘headache’. Top
left: young siblings PRICE TO PAY
practise their There are downsides to being in a group, though. Not
hunting skills on a
Thomson’s gazelle only do you have to share your meal with someone else,
fawn. Above: by but you also have to share your partner, too. In coalitions
working as a pair made up of unrelated males, this has an evolutionary
cheetahs can look cost: it means they are less likely to pass on their DNA
out for danger and
bring down prey. if living with anyone besides their siblings.
Research has shown that the benefits of being in a
coalition only outweigh the costs when there are many other
coalitions present, each competing for the same resources.
“You would expect coalitions to be most common where
female cheetahs are most clustered,” says Sarah. “It would
then be worthwhile for males to join groups in order to

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