IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Hayward, M. | |
| Implications of the Prey Preferences of Large Felids for their Conservation | |
| 2007 Conference Proceeding | |
A new line of research has recently evolved that describes the prey preferences of individual predators and investigates why those specific preferences have evolved. This paper reviews the published data on the prey preferences of large felids and makes recommendations for their conservation based on these preferences. Amongst the African guild of felids, lions prefer prey the largest prey outside the megaherbivores, leopards prefer medium-sized prey from denser habitats which assist its solitary hunting strategy, and the morphological limitations of the cheetah restrict it to medium-sized prey from open habitats. The main conservation implication of this research is the fundamental importance of an adequate prey base of each predators' preferred prey in order to conserve them. Thus, studies looking solely at habitat requirements based on vegetation communities may fail without cognizance of the habitat requirements of the prey of large felids. This research has also led to the ability to predict the diet and carrying capacity of large felids. Finally, African predators with the smallest preferred dietary niche breadth were more highly threatened with extinction (e.g., cheetah, lion) than those with a broader preferred dietary niche breadth (leopard). |
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