VOA科学技术2023--Cheetahs Change Hunting Activity During Hot Weather

Cheetahs² Change Hunting Activity During Hot Weather

Cheetahs usually hunt during the day. But the fast cats change their activity to early morning and early evening hours during warmer weather, a recent study says.

The time change sets the creatures up for more possible conflicts with competing predators⁴ - such as lions and leopards⁵ - that often hunt at night, say the study writers. Their research was published recently in Proceedings⁶ of the Royal Society B.

Briana Abrahms of the University of Washington was a study co-writer. Abrahms said that changing temperatures can have an effect on "the behavior .... of large carnivore species and also the dynamics⁷ among species."

While cheetahs only eat fresh meat, lions and leopards will sometimes take food from smaller predators.

"Lions and leopards normally kill prey⁸ themselves, but if they come across a cheetah¹'s kill, they will try to take it," said Bettina Wachter of the Cheetah Research Project at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.

"The cheetahs will not fight the larger cats, they will just leave," said Wachter, who was not involved in the study.

Hunting at different times of the day is one way to reduce meetings between the different predator³ species that share northern Botswana's mixed grass and forest lands.

But the new study found that on the hottest days, when daily temperatures got to nearly 45 degrees Celsius⁹, cheetahs became more active at night. This means cheetahs spent 16 percent more time hunting when other big cats hunt.

Kasim Rafiq of the University of Washington and the nonprofit Botswana Predator Conservation Trust was another co-writer of the study. Rafiq said about the shared hunting hours: "There's a greater chance for more unfriendly encounters and less food for the cheetahs."

For the current study, researchers placed GPS devices on 53 large carnivores — including cheetahs, lions, leopards and African wild dogs. Researchers then recorded their positions and hours of activity over eight years. They compared this data with the highest daily temperature records.

While seasonal¹⁰ differences explain most temperature changes in the time between 2011 to 2018, the scientists say the observed behavior changes offer information about the future of a warming world.

In future research, the scientists plan to use audio-recording devices and accelerometers — "like a Fitbit for big cats," said Rafiq. The goal is to document the number of meetings between large meat-eating animals.

In addition to competition with lions and leopards, cheetahs already face strong pressure from the loss of living space and conflict with humans.

The fastest land animal, cheetahs are the rarest big cat in Africa, with fewer than 7,000 left in the wild.

"These climate changes could become really critical if we look into the future — it's predicted to become much warmer in this part of Africa where cheetahs live, in Botswana, Namibia and Zambia," said Wachter of the Cheetah Research Project.

Words in This Story

cheetah – n. a large wild cat that lives in Africa and Asia

predator -- n. an animal that lives by killing¹¹ and eating other animals

carnivore -- n. an animal that eats meat

species -- n. a group of related animals or plants

dynamics -- n. the way that two or more things behave with each other

prey -- n. an animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food

encounter - n. to meet someone or something without expecting to

1 cheetah   

n.(动物)猎豹

参考例句：

• The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.猎豹被公认是世界上跑得最快的动物。
• The distribution of the cheetah ranges from Africa to Central Asia.印度豹的足迹遍及从非洲到中亚的广大地区。

2 cheetahs   

n.（奔跑极快的）非洲猎豹( cheetah的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Unlike lions or cheetahs, leopards are secretive, solitary cats. 花豹不像狮子或印度豹，是属于较神秘而隐居的大猫。 来自互联网
• Among this lot are cheetahs, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, spotted hyenas and elephants. 印度豹、狮子、花豹、犀牛、斑点土狼、大象等，都是此地的居民。 来自互联网

3 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

4 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

6 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

7 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

8 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

9 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

10 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

11 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。