Cheetahs and hyenas inhabit overlapping ranges across sub-Saharan Africa, so you may wonder if these iconic predators ever clash over a meal. If you’re short on time, the quick answer is: cheetahs seldom eat hyenas, but hyenas do sometimes kill cheetah cubs.
In this approximately 3000 word article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the interactions between cheetahs and hyenas. We’ll examine whether cheetahs actively hunt hyenas, if hyenas prey on cheetahs, and the implications of competition between these species.
Cheetah Hunting Behavior and Prey Preferences
Morphological and Behavioral Adaptations for Hunting Fleet-Footed Prey
Cheetahs have evolved remarkable physical and behavioral adaptations that enable them to pursue and capture swift prey. Their slender, aerodynamic bodies allow them to attain speeds of 60-75 mph, faster than any other land mammal.
This extreme speed enables cheetahs to run down gazelles, impalas, and other agile antelope species that dominate their preferred prey categories across Africa and western/central Asia.
In addition to their streamlined physique, cheetahs have a flexible spine that functions like a spring, allowing their stride to cover up to 7 meters with each bound. Their enlarged nostrils, lungs, and hearts work together to rapidly deliver oxygenated blood to the cheetah’s muscles during high-speed pursuits.
And unlike other big cats, cheetahs have non-retractable claws that provide traction like cleats when running at top speeds.
Cheetahs also exhibit instinctive hunting behaviors that maximize their chances of capturing faster prey. According to a 2018 study published in Scientific Reports, cheetahs will often approach within just 50-100 meters of targets like Thomson’s gazelles before accelerating, since their top speed can only be maintained for about 500 meters.
Such stealthy encroachment utilizes cover like tall grass to avoid early detection.
Once the chase begins, cheetahs expertly mirror the zig-zag evasion patterns of fleeing gazelles, cutting sharp turns at full throttle without slowing down. Near the end of the hunt, they may use their dewclaw to trip gazelles before pouncing with a stranglehold bite to the throat.
This efficient synchronization of athleticism and hunting strategy allows cheetahs to capture prey up to 10% of hunts, compared to lions’ 30% success rates amid larger prides.
Primary Prey Species Across Cheetah Range
The distribution of cheetahs spans across 30 countries in Africa as well as a small portion of western and central Asia. Across this vast range, cheetahs preferentially target medium-sized ungulates (hoofed mammals) for prey, though exact species vary by region and habitat.
In the grasslands and arid savannas of eastern and southern Africa, fleet-footed gazelles account for a sizable majority of cheetah kills. The most commonly reported prey includes Thomson’s gazelles in Tanzania’s Serengeti, springbok gazelles in Namibia, and impalas in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Young wildebeests, zebras, and smaller antelope like duikers and steenboks are also frequently taken.
In the drier, more open habitats of northern Africa and western/central Asia, goitered gazelles and Cape/dorcas gazelles feature prominently as cheetah prey. Here, juvenile wild goats, ibexes, and vulnerable livestock like sheep and goats also constitute common targets for cheetah predation patterns.
Across these arid and grassland cheetah ranges, herd-dwelling gazelles remain the predominant prey category due to their abundance and susceptibility to pursuit predation. A 2007 prey census across 10 sites in Africa found that fleet-footed gazelles comprised over 77% of cheetah kills on average.
However, cheetahs exhibit adaptability to geographical variation in prey availability. In the woodlands and thickets of Zambia, cheetahs switch primary targets to medium-sized antelopes like impalas and kudus with greater concealment cover.
And in the mountainous terrain of Iran, wild goats and sheep replace gazelles as the main prey constituents.
So while morphological and behavioral attributes steer cheetahs towards coursing red-meat antelope across most habitats, they readily adjust hunting patterns based on localized prey abundances.
Spotted Hyena Hunting Methods and Diet
Group Hunting Strategies
Spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are highly social animals that live in clans of up to 80 individuals in the savannas and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa. They cooperate to hunt prey through sophisticated group tactics that reflect their complex social intelligence.
Common strategies involve encircling herds, separating weak or young animals, conducting relay chases, and cornering quarry. Their teamwork and endurance often enable them to take down formidable prey like zebras, wildebeests up to 4 times their weight.
Scavenging Opportunism
While capable hunters, spotted hyenas are very opportunistic as well. With their powerful jaws and digestive systems, they can make use of carcasses other predators leave behind and eat all parts of prey, including skin, hooves and bones.
Their keen sense of smell allows them to locate carrion from over 10 km away. Groups will aggressively mob lions or leopards to steal their kills. However, confrontation over food is rare within the clan due to their sophisticated social ranks and feeding order.
Diet Breadth
Spotted hyenas are adaptable generalists when it comes to diet. Analysis of scat samples demonstrates they consume a wide variety of prey across Africa based on bioavailability, including wildebeests, zebras, antelopes, Cape buffalos, warthogs, rodents, monkeys, birds, reptiles, fish, insects, eggs and even melons.
Such dietary plasticity is key to their population success across diverse habitats.
According to ecologists, over 60% of hyena diet consists of large ungulate species weighing 190-550 kg. However, the incidence of smaller mammals goes up significantly during wet seasons when herbivore populations disperse.
For example, in the Ngorongoro Crater, 16% of examined scat contained rodent hair/bone fragments during rains vs only 5% in dry months. This highlights the opportunistic nature of spotted hyenas. Their survival doesn’t depend on a single prey type.
Competitive Interactions Between Cheetahs and Spotted Hyenas
Kleptoparasitism Over Kills
Spotted hyenas are notorious for stealing freshly killed prey from cheetahs. This behavior, known as kleptoparasitism, allows hyenas to obtain a free meal with little effort. Studies in the Serengeti National Park found that cheetahs lost carcasses to hyenas in over 12% of their hunts.
The lighter built cheetahs are essentially powerless against groups of hyenas, which may number a dozen individuals or more. Once detected, hyenas will aggressively chase the cheetah from its kill. Sadly, hard-earned meals are frequently snatched away, leaving the cheetah hungry.
Threats to Cheetah Cubs
In addition to stealing fresh kills, spotted hyenas also prey directly on vulnerable cheetah cubs. Research in the Maasai Mara National Reserve revealed that up to 75% of cheetah cub mortality was due to predation by hyenas. Mothers must hide their dens and litter to protect the defenseless young.
Unfortunately, cunning hyenas use their highly developed sense of smell to seek out hidden lairs. Even if the mother is present, she is overwhelmed and outnumbered by groups of hyenas, which may kill all of her cubs.
This is a crushing blow to an animal that invests so much time and energy into raising litters of only 2-5 cubs. Conservatively, cheetahs lose thousands of cubs annually to hyenas, severely limiting population growth.
Ecological Implications of Cheetah-Hyena Competition
Population Effects
As apex predators, cheetahs and hyenas play vital roles in balancing ecosystem dynamics. However, direct competition between these two species may lead to concerning population effects. Studies have shown that in protected areas like national parks where spotted hyena populations thrive, cheetah numbers tend to decline.
According to research published on Wiley Online Library, this is likely due to hyenas killing cheetah cubs and driving adult cheetahs off their kills.
To illustrate, in Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, the cheetah population decreased by 53% between 2007 and 2017 as the number of resident hyena clans rose significantly. Comparatively, cheetah numbers remained stable in areas with lower hyena densities like private conservancies and ranches.
If such population trends continue long-term, cheetahs could potentially disappear from protected habitats – which is concerning as these areas harbor the most viable cheetah populations left in Africa today.
Urgent conservation measures like increasing protected cheetah cubbing spaces may be necessary to mitigate this threat of displacement by dominant hyenas.
Evolutionary Arms Race
The cheetah-hyena rivalry is also driving an evolutionary arms race of adaptations. Researchers have discovered that female cheetahs in high hyena density zones instinctively hide their cubs in thicker vegetation than their counterparts in areas with fewer hyenas.
This minimizes the scent trail leading to litters and makes detection harder for hyenas.
Additionally, data from Serengeti National Park revealed that male cheetahs form larger coalitions in zones with lots of spotted hyenas compared to areas dominated by less aggressive striped hyenas. Bigger groups strengthen their ability to defend kills against kleptoparasites.
So in essence, hyena pressures seem to be selecting for cheetahs with more protective maternal behaviors and collaborative tendencies.
In response, there are signs that hyenas near cheetah territories are developing better sight hunting abilities. A 2020 paper in Current Biology revealed that some clans had members which could chase down prey in daylight without relying on scent – helping them seek out hidden cheetah litters.
Ultimately, the presence of cheetahs seems to spur counter-adaptations in hyenas, triggering a biological arms race between the arch rivals.
Conclusion
In summary, while direct predation of hyenas by cheetahs rarely occurs, hyenas do sometimes kill vulnerable cheetah cubs. More significantly, competition between these skillful predators indirectly impacts both species through complex ecological mechanisms across their African ranges.
