It has been widely believed that the Asiatic cheetah occurs wherever gazelles exist. However, most of the present cheetah main habitat in Iran has a low density of gazelles, although there are neighbouring high-density gazelle areas without cheetahs. We found that cover has been usually ignored as an essential need for its hunting success and thus its survival. We propose to conduct more surveys in habitats which provide both food and cover to cheetahs.
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Is food a reliable indicator of cheetah presence in Iran? (2008)