Home range and habitat use by cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in the Kruger National Park

Cheetah Acinonoyx jubatus home-range size and habitat use were analysed using radio-tracking data collected in the southern district of the Kruger National Park (KNP) between 1987 and 1990. Meaningful estimates of home-range size, using the 95% minimum convex polygon method, were 126 km(2) for a three-male cheetah coalition, 195 km(2) for a solitary male, and 150 km(2) and 171 km(2) for two female cheetahs. Although cheetahs used all habitats according to their availability they did show a preference for open savanna habitat because their core or total home ranges centred on these habitats. Female cheetahs used denser woodland habitat more frequently than males, as they seemed to be influenced by the distribution of their main prey, impala Aepyceros melampus, which also preferred denser woodland habitat.