Looking for, not catching, prey drains big cats’ energy

Quick attacks help cheetahs and pumas ease metabolic cost of hunting

Cheetah trotting in sand

ON THE PROWL  Cheetahs burn more energy prowling for prey than they do chasing it down. The big cats’ quick bursts of speed are so short that they don’t use much of the animals’ daily energy budget, researchers report.

Michael G.L. Mills

For some big cats, searching for dinner takes more effort than snagging it, scientists report in two papers in the Oct.