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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
Locomotion dynamics of hunting in wild cheetahs
Nature, Volume 498, No. 7453, Year 2013
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Description
Although the cheetah is recognised as the fastest land animal, little is known about other aspects of its notable athleticism, particularly when hunting in the wild. Here we describe and use a new tracking collar of our own design, containing a combination of Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial measurement units, to capture the locomotor dynamics and outcome of 367 predominantly hunting runs of five wild cheetahs in Botswana. A remarkable top speed of 25.9 m s -1 (58 m.p.h. or 93 km h -1) was recorded, but most cheetah hunts involved only moderate speeds. We recorded some of the highest measured values for lateral and forward acceleration, deceleration and body-mass-specific power for any terrestrial mammal. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed locomotor information on the hunting dynamics of a large cursorial predator in its natural habitat. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Wilson, Alan Martin
United Kingdom, London
Royal Veterinary College University of London
Lowe, John C.
United Kingdom, London
Royal Veterinary College University of London
Roskilly, K.
United Kingdom, London
Royal Veterinary College University of London
Golabek, Krystyna A.
Botswana, Maun
Botswana Predator Conservation Trust
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
McNutt, John Weldon
Botswana, Maun
Botswana Predator Conservation Trust
Statistics
Citations: 309
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 4
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature12295
ISSN:
00280836
e-ISSN:
14764687
Study Locations
Botswana