Cheetah: Cheetahs, as well as many other animal species, have been observed marking trees with urine, scats, or simply their scent. Cheetah tree marking benefits other animals, according to a new study published in the journal Mammalian Biology. This assists them in establishing communication networks by trading or obtaining information about one another.
According to the current research, several other mammalian species maintain a communication network on “cheetah trees,” acquiring information on members of their own species as well as members of other species. There were black-backed jackals, African wildcats, and warthogs among them.
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New findings come at a time when India is reintroducing cheetahs into the wild
While the new findings come at a time when India is reintroducing cheetahs into the wild, the study was conducted in Namibia by the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), Germany.
The research was based on photographs and videos taken by wildlife camera traps on farmland in Namibia. The captures revealed that jackals, wildcats, and warthogs visited and sniffed the cheetah trees more frequently than control trees. In contrast, a common prey species of cheetahs avoided these hotspots, according to a press release from Leibniz-IZW.
The scientists discovered nine “cheetah marking trees” and nine more that resembled them.
Because several species visited and sniffed cheetah marking trees more frequently than control trees, the scientists concluded that cheetah markings provide vital information.
Other species shared information as frequently at “cheetah trees” as they did at control trees. This meant that they used all of these trees to communicate with one another.
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How long did survey last?
The survey lasted 65 days and included visits from 29 animal species to both sets of trees. The species visiting cheetah trees were more diversified than those visiting control trees, but most species only visited the trees a few times, according to the experts. The scientists chose just those species that had visited the trees at least 20 times out of the 29.
This reduced the number of species to 13 that visited, 9 that scented, and 1 that left information at the cheetah marking and control trees.
Cheetahs almost never hunt African wild cats, black-backed jackals, or warthogs. These were the ones who frequented and sniffed cheetah marking trees more than control trees. Small predator species may visit cheetah marking trees to determine when cheetahs last visited the region and/or to feast on undigested prey remnants in cheetah scats, according to the scientists.
The images and videos revealed that common duikers, a species that cheetahs often prey on, visited cheetah marking trees less frequently than control trees.
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