Big cats in evolutionary arms race with prey

Big cats in evolutionary arms race with prey: study

dpa/AFP / Karl-Josef Hildenbrand When chased, zebras and impalas compensate for their slower speed by moving unpredictably to evade outstretched claws

 

Lions and cheetah are faster, stronger and no less agile than their prey, but zebras and impalas compensate with a surprising tactic, researchers said: slow down, and keep the big cats guessing.

Indeed, fleeing at top speed is a fatal mistake, making it easier for the fearsome felines to close in for the kill, they reported in the journal Nature.

"If the prey is running flat out, it cannot speed up and its movements become predictable," lead author Alan Wilson, a professor at the University of London's Royal Veterinary College, told AFP.

"Lower-speed hunts favour prey survival, because it gives the animals the opportunity to maneuver."

The proof is in the kill rate: lions (which hunt zebra) and cheetah (which target impalas)
 fail two out of three times when they give chase.
  

Despite the Cats' apparent advantages, zebras and impala kept the upper hand when chased by moving unpredictably to evade outstretched claws while just a step or two ahead.


Over time, the big cats have become better killing machines, while their would-be meals have become more adept at evading capture  ... not to just run away but to turn at the last moment.

 

AFP / MARCO LONGARI Lions fail two out of three times when they hunt zebras

 

 

 

 

24 Jan 2018

AFP's worldwide network   

• Twitter

Read more:
Source: https://www.afp.com/en/news-hub