Rising temperatures are also affecting endangered cheetahs
It has been reported that endangered cheetahs, whose hunting time intervals are changing, may face more ferocious predators such as lions and leopards.
AA
According to a report by CBS News, researchers fitted wild carnivores such as cheetahs, lions, leopards, and African wild dogs with GPS-collars to examine the impact of rising temperatures on the relationships between carnivorous wild animal species. 53 large carnivores with collars were tracked for 8 years (2011-2018).
Researchers revealed that cheetahs, which usually hunt during the day, shift their search for food to sunrise and after sunset in hot weather.
HUNTING TIME INTERVAL CHANGED
As a result of the study, it was determined that on days when temperatures rose to 45 degrees Celsius, the hunting time interval of cheetahs that overlapped with rival predators increased by 15.92 percent.
Biologist Briana Abrahms from the University of Washington and one of the authors of the study said, "Changing temperatures can affect the behavioral patterns of large carnivore species and also the dynamics between species."
Biologist Kasim Rafiq stated that while the likelihood of cheetahs being exposed to "hostile encounters" increases, there is a possibility that their chances of finding food may decrease.
Bettina Wachter, a behavioral biologist who heads the Cheetah Research Project at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, stated, "Lions and leopards normally kill their own prey, but if they come across a cheetah's prey, they try to seize it."
Wachter stated that cheetahs will not fight larger cats for the animals they have hunted.
Touching on the forecast that air temperatures will increase even further in places such as Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia, which are among the habitats of cheetahs, Wachter emphasized that in this context, climate change will be a more serious risk in the future.
The results of the research were published in the journal "Proceedings of the Royal Society B".