Study
Biomechanics of predator–prey arms race in lion, zebra, cheetah and impala
Wilson, Alan M.; Hubel, Tatjana Y.; Wilshin, Simon D.; Lowe, John C.; Lorenc, Maja; Dewhirst, Oliver P.; Golabek, Krystyna A.; McNutt, J. Weldon
Nature, 2018
Collected matched locomotor data from two predators and their principal prey using the same collar technology, and compared muscle performance, acceleration, deceleration and turning capacity across the four species.
- Studied in
- Panthera leo, Equus quagga, Acinonyx jubatus, Aepyceros melampus
- Sample size
- collar data from two predator and two prey species
Predators had higher maximum speed, acceleration and deceleration capacity than their prey, but hunts were usually won or lost on manoeuvre rather than on raw performance, and prey succeeded often by turning inside a faster pursuer.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Predator and prey performance are matched in a way that keeps outcomes uncertain, with the predator’s advantage in capacity offset by the prey’s advantage in initiating the turn.
How NatureHQ reads it
The strongest single dataset NatureHQ has for describing an arms race without implying intent. Both sides are better at the same things, in measured amounts, and the outcome of any given hunt remains genuinely uncertain — which is what the term is supposed to mean.
- Two predator–prey pairs in one ecosystem.
- Performance capacity measured from collars is inferred from movement rather than from physiology directly.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Ambush and pursuit
When whole cheetah hunts were finally measured, the animals rarely ran near their maximum speed. What separated a successful hunt from a failed one was deceleration and turning, not how fast the cheetah could go.
Predator–prey arms races
Prey do not evolve defences in order to defeat a predator. Each side changes because the other side has changed, over generations, with nothing aiming at anything.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.