Research overview: sexually selected infanticide across felids

Infanticide by males is documented or inferred across many felid species, from lions to tigers, leopards, pumas, and others, wherever killing dependent young can hasten a female's next conception. This overview surveys comparative evidence for sexually selected infanticide, the conditions that favour it, and the female counterstrategies it provokes, including faster post-loss conception, confusion of paternity through multiple mating, and concealment or defence of young. It discusses the difficulty of observing infanticide in solitary cats and the indirect evidence used to detect it. The topic situates felid infanticide within a general evolutionary framework linking male reproductive strategy to offspring vulnerability.