Pettifer HL. 1981. Aspects on the ecology of cheetahs on the ...
Pettifer HL. 1981. Aspects on the ecology of cheetahs on the ...
Pettifer HL. 1981. Aspects on the ecology of cheetahs on the ...
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
ECOLOEI OE CEEEIAES<br />
(Tester 19?1). Plots trith angles les! than 10o were reiected and readings<br />
were taken as close to <strong>the</strong> anlmal as feasibly posaible without<br />
causing any disturbance.<br />
A fur<strong>the</strong>r problem <strong>on</strong> Sulkerbosland nas caused bv <strong>the</strong> leflecti<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> sig-<br />
nsls <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> mountainous terrain. In 50 t.lal plots whele <strong>the</strong> cheetah8<br />
oere flushed after <strong>the</strong> leadings had been'taken, it was lound that al I<br />
plots except 2 fell within 100 m x 100 |l| <strong>of</strong> true locati<strong>on</strong>' <strong>the</strong> remaining<br />
z plots being 200 m out <strong>of</strong> true locati<strong>on</strong>. Botl <strong>the</strong>se plots were taken<br />
frorn distances over 4 lsn lroo <strong>the</strong> anlmal.<br />
Whe!e posslble, daily plois lf.!e takeo <strong>on</strong> all radio marked cheetaha'<br />
Each selected cheetsh was periodlcally track€d <strong>on</strong> a routine ba8is and<br />
ell data relevant to th€ <strong>ecology</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cheetshawere recorded' Behavi-<br />
oral aspects and habttat descrlptl<strong>on</strong>s rere lecorded <strong>on</strong>to nicrocasEelte'<br />
For <strong>the</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> thls paper, ho<strong>the</strong> Fange wes bssed <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> minlmrim area<br />
method (Stickle 195{) anal high utllittti<strong>on</strong> aleas calculated by plotting<br />
<strong>the</strong> geog.Sphical positi<strong>on</strong> o! th6 daily dlurnal restlng sltes <strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong><br />
study animels anal by progres!lvely €xcluding successive observat i<strong>on</strong>€<br />
that c<strong>on</strong>tllbut€d <strong>the</strong> most to <strong>the</strong> totsl hotne lang€ slte, u|rtil a deflnite<br />
co!e area remained which c<strong>on</strong>slstGd <strong>of</strong> observat i<strong>on</strong>s thf,t were closely<br />
situateal to each o<strong>the</strong>r. Ttlese calculetl<strong>on</strong>s were mad€ using a Fortran<br />
prog!am <strong>on</strong> a Bulroughs B 6?00 digital cooputer as used by FerguB<strong>on</strong><br />
(1980). The lnitlal plotting <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> localities <strong>of</strong> each ch€etah *as<br />
performed using s Versatec Plottet coupled to a Cyber l?4 digital com-<br />
STUDY ANIMALS<br />
The 1st cheelah was radlo marked <strong>on</strong> 4 July 1978 <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> suikerbosrend<br />
Nature Reserve. The anlmal nas an approximately 18-np-old femele<br />
(Puldey) origtnating from a group <strong>of</strong> 4i <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r 3 wer€ relocated to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Eastern Shores Nature Beserv€ ln Natal. On 26 July l9?8, an adult<br />
female (Mary) with 4 3-mo-old cubs was !adio marked, followed bv an<br />
sdult fenale singlet<strong>on</strong> (Rosina) <strong>on</strong> 18 September l9?8. On 23 Sept€mber<br />
l9?8, 2 aalult males ((ojak and setzure) wer€ malked' bringing <strong>the</strong> total<br />
to 3 females and 2 nales, Al I those cheetshs are st I I I under study'<br />
tt25
Change language