Living on the edge: multiscale habitat selection by cheetahs in a human-wildlife landscape

Animals select habitats that will ultimately optimise their fitness through access to favourable resources, such as food, mates, and breeding sites. However, access to these resources may be limited by bottom-up effects, such as availability, and top-down effects such as risk avoidance and competition, including that with humans. Competition between wildlife and people over resources, specifically over space, has played a significant role in the worldwide decrease of large carnivores. The goal of this study was to determine the habitat selection of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in a human-wildlife landscape at multiple spatial scales. Cheetahs are a wide-ranging, large carnivore, whose significant decline is largely attributed to habitat loss and fragmentation. It is believed that 77% of the global cheetah population ranges outside protected areas, yet little is known about cheetahs’ resource use in areas where they co-occur with people. The selection, or avoidance, of three anthropogenic...