Climate Change Causes Cheetahs to Alter Hunting Patterns, Leading to More Conflicts with Other Predators, Study Finds

Shift in cheetahs' behaviour could lead to a scarcity of food and more encounters with larger predators as researchers observe changes over an 8-year period, pinning the survival of the already endangered big cat to the impact of rising temperatures.

Cheetahs, usually daytime hunters, are now hunting during dawn and dusk hours, mirroring the activity patterns of nocturnal predators due to warmer conditions, setting up potential conflicts with other predators.
On the hottest days with temperatures rising up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit, cheetahs shift their hunting pattern to become more nocturnal, escalating their overlapping hunting hours with rival big cats by 16%.
Cheetahs' shift to more nocturnal hunting potentially increases their encounters with larger predators like lions and leopards, leading to fights for prey and scavenging opportunities, impacting food availability.
This behavioural change in cheetahs, already endangered and under severe pressure from habitat fragmentation and human conflict, is closely linked with climate change, according to an 8-year study.
Studying the impact of climate change on these large carnivores, researchers used high-resolution GPS tracking collars, tracking the locations and hours of activity of 53 animals, and compared these data with maximum daily temperature records.
The future climatic conditions could critically affect the survival of cheetahs, with predictions indicating warming trends in Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, where cheetahs primarily reside.