Behavioral ecology

Cheetahs live predominantly in open habitats with abundant prey although they can be found in diverse habitats such as woodland, savannah and deserts. Their social system is unique within mammalian species. Adult males exhibit two spatial tactics with males either defending small territories (territorial males) or roaming in large home ranges encompassing several territories (floaters) and females roaming in large home ranges. Males are solitary or live in coalitions of two or three individuals, usually brothers. Both solitary males and coalition groups can be either territorial of floaters. Males fight heavily for a territory which provides them preferred access to females.

Females roam solitary or with their offspring. After three months of gestation, females give birth to one to six cubs, with an average litter size of two to three cubs. The cubs stay in a lair for the first two months and then start to follow their mother on short trips. They are weaned at approximately 4 months of age. Once they reach independence at approximately 17 months of age, the mother separates from her offspring and the littermates start roaming together for a while. Sisters separate after a while and settle in areas neighboring to their mother home range while brother remain together and disperse large distances from their natal home range.

Cheetahs are generalist apex carnivores that prey on a wide variety of species. They capture species from the size of mice up to juvenile kudu, but their main prey animals have a body mass between 14 kg and 56 kg. Male coalitions take larger prey than single individuals and females. Livestock such as sheep, goat and cattle calves is also part of their diet if easily available, but it generally comprises less than 7% of their diet. Cheetah typically hunt every third or fourth day and leave the remains when they finished eating. They generally do not scavenge, a habit that protects them from getting infected with pathogens from the prey animals. The mainly hunt between sunset and sunrise and spend on average 3.5 hours at each kill site.