Patterns of scavenger arrival at cheetah kills in Serengeti National Park Tanzania

Scavenging by large-bodied vertebrates is observed in many ecosystems but has rarely been quantified. Here we document the timing and order of scavenger arrival at 639 cheetah kills in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, focusing on ecological and heterospecific factors that may impact detectability of carcasses. We found that small-, medium- and large-sized vultures, jackals, spotted hyaenas and lions were more likely to be present at the carcasses of large-bodied than small-bodied prey. Lions and spotted hyaenas were less likely to locate kills in tall grass; medium-sized vultures were likely to arrive before both large- and small-sized vultures. Spotted hyaenas and vultures were likely to be present at kills simultaneously. Despite numerous anecdotal accounts, we did not find that hyaenas use alighting vultures as a means of locating food. Our findings show that environmental variables and other scavenger species strongly influence scavenger arrival at carcasses in this ecosystem.