Data from: Do prey select for vacant hunting domains to minimize a multi-predator threat?

Many ecosystems contain sympatric predator species that hunt in different
places and times. We tested whether this provides vacant hunting domains,
places and times where and when predators are least active, that prey use
to minimize threats from multiple predators simultaneously. We measured
how northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus) responded to wolves (Canis
lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor), and found that elk selected for areas
outside the high‐risk domains of both predators consistent with the vacant
domain hypothesis. This enabled elk to avoid one predator without
necessarily increasing its exposure to the other. Our results demonstrate
how the diel cycle can serve as a key axis of the predator hunting domain
that prey exploit to manage predation risk from multiple sources. We argue
that a multi‐predator, spatiotemporal framework is vital to understand the
causes and consequences of prey spatial response to predation risk in
environments with more than one predator.