When Should 'Clever' Cheetah Breed? Seasonal Variability in Prey Availability and Its Effect on Cheetah Reproductive Patterns

Abstract

Breeding is energetically demanding for female mammals, with maternal and cub nutrition playing a major role in reproductive phases like conception, gestation, lactation and weaning. To meet these demands, adaptations to seasonal shifts in food availability are expected. Some predators may shift prey selection seasonally, optimizing foraging during energetically costly periods. Cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, prefer adult prey in the dry season when younger prey are scarce but switch to neonate and juvenile prey during the wet season, presumably to optimize foraging during gestation and lactation. Given the wide distribution of cheetah across seasonal (i.e., distinct wet and dry seasons) and aseasonal environments (rainfall throughout the year) and the associated shifts in availability of prey demographic classes, we hypothesized that seasonal prey availability in seasonal systems, but not aseasonal systems, influences the timing of cheetah reproductive phases. Based on the birth dates of cheetahs in seasonal (n = 142) and aseasonal (n = 106) rainfall areas, 58.5% of litters were conceived during the wet season, with 60.6% born in the dry season. In contrast, aseasonal areas showed no seasonality in birth dates. Cheetah reproduction in seasonal environments is driven by the availability of neonate and juvenile prey, with conception and cub independence aligning with peaks in easy-to-catch neonates, while lactation coincides with the availability of larger juveniles. Although cheetahs are often viewed as specialized predators with limited ability to adapt to local environmental conditions, our findings suggest they can adjust reproductive patterns in response to prey availability. This adaptability is important as it will allow cheetahs to successfully raise cubs in the face of changing prey reproductive patterns in response to climate change.

Keywords: breeding season; cheetah; demographic‐specific predation; reproductive phenology; reproductive strategy.

FIGURE 1

Predicted pattern (see text for detail) of cheetah reproduction in relation to preferred prey availability and rainfall over a 2‐year period (reflecting the conception to independence timing for cheetahs). Predictions 1–4 illustrate patterns of cheetah reproduction in a seasonal system (with a distinct wet and dry season, and therefore a distinct prey breeding season) where they optimize different reproductive phases. The point of the reproductive phase is indicated by a star (*). The solid line indicates the gestation period, and the dotted line the lactation period. Prediction 5 represents the alternative hypothesis where cheetah, in aseasonal environments, will not optimize any specific reproductive phase and consistently breed throughout the year irrespective of rainfall seasonality or prey breeding seasons. Note that Predictions 1 and 4 are nearly coincidental. Neonate prey (< 3 months old) are available to hunt during the prey parturition period (green). In seasonal environments, most prey species give birth to young during the wet season (November–February in the southern hemisphere). As the prey breeding season progresses, juvenile prey (3–12 months old) abundance increases, as neonates mature into juveniles. Thus, during the dry season, juvenile or adult (> 12 months) prey are available to hunt.

FIGURE 2

Sites with cheetahs (solid circles) where data on reproduction was obtained.

FIGURE 3

Radar plots show the mean number of cheetah litters (±95% CI) conceived (A), born (B), weaned (C), and becoming independent (D) in sites with seasonal and aseasonal rainfall during a 1‐year period. The significant peaks are indicated by dark green bars. The outer circle indicates when neonate prey are available during the prey parturition period (green) and when juvenile and adult prey are available (orange). The inner circle indicates the rainfall season (wet: Blue; dry: Light orange).

FIGURE 4

The relationship between prey parturition period and rainfall and its influence on cheetah conception.