IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Scheel, D.; Packer, C. | |
| Variation in Predation by Lions: Tracking a Movable Feast | |
| 1995 Book Chapter | |
The Serengeti ecosystem is characterized by the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle. The Serengeti also supports sizable populations of resident ungulates. Even though the migratory species are their most frequent prey, Serengeti lions are territorial except during periods of extreme hardship. Lions must therefore endure wide fluctuation in the local densities of certain prey species, relying on the stable abundance of resident species during the lean season. The influence of local prey abundance can be measured by the predators' functional response and by economic models from foraging theory. Foraging theory successfully predicts the prey preferences of hunting lions. By preferring wildebeest and zebra during the migration and specializing on warthog and buffalo when the migrants are scarce, lions appear to be risk-sensitive foragers that maximize food intake rate. The precise timing and pattern of the Serengeti migration is complex and erratic. Thus, local prey densities can vary dramatically on a weekly or even daily basis, and no two years are exactly the same. In addition, the sizes of the Serengeti ungulate population have changed markedly over the past quarter century. In this chapter, we show that lion predation patterns vary not only with short-term changes in local prey density but also with long-term changes in herbivore population sizes. |
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