We investigated the simultaneous and sympatric movements of a coalition of two Asiatic Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and a Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor), two rare and highly mobile large felids in Bafq Protected Area, Iran. The animals were tracked with GPS collars for 4.5 to 9 months at a temporal resolution of eight hours. The cheetahs used lower elevations areas (average: 1600 m), and remained more distant to the surrounding highways of (average: 14.5 km) than the leopard (average: 1.8 km and 12.3 km, respectively). The leopard’s home range (408 km2) was almost entirely within the larger home ranges of the cheetah coalition (1,137 km2). We found that the leopard approached more closely to either of the cheetahs in the rare occasions when they were separated, though whether that was the response of the cheetahs to the leopard or vice versa is unknown. This interaction eventually culminated in the leopard killing one of the cheetahs, the first documented proof of lethal competition between cheetah and leopard in Iran. The combined risks of larger home ranges beyond the protected areas with higher probability of encounters with humans, of highway crossing, and predation by Persian Leopards contribute to the particularly precarious situation of the Asiatic Cheetah.

中文翻译：

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亚洲猎豹 Acinonyx jubatus venaticus 和波斯豹 Panthera pardus saxicolor 在伊朗沙漠环境中的相互依赖运动（哺乳动物：猫科）

我们调查了伊朗 Bafq 保护区的两只亚洲猎豹 (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) 和一只波斯豹 (Panthera pardus saxicolor) 的同时和同域运动，这是两种罕见且高度移动的大型猫科动物。用 GPS 项圈以 8 小时的时间分辨率跟踪动物 4.5 至 9 个月。猎豹使用海拔较低的地区（平均：1600 米），与豹（平均：分别为 1.8 公里和 12.3 公里）相比，它们与周围高速公路的距离（平均：14.5 公里）。豹子的活动范围（408 平方公里）几乎完全在猎豹联盟更大的活动范围内（1,137 平方公里）。我们发现，在极少数情况下，豹子会更靠近两只猎豹，当它们分开时，尽管这是否是猎豹对豹的反应，反之亦然是未知的。这种互动最终导致豹子杀死了其中一只猎豹，这是伊朗猎豹和豹子之间致命竞争的第一个有据可查的证据。较大的栖息地超出保护区，与人类相遇、穿越高速公路和被波斯豹捕食的可能性更高，这些综合风险导致亚洲猎豹的处境特别危险。