Range Contractions of the World's Large Carnivores

This study quantified how much range the world's large carnivores have lost by comparing historical and current distributions across many species, including big cats. The authors found that large carnivores have collectively disappeared from a substantial share of their historical ranges, with some species reduced to small fractions of where they once roamed, and they identified which regions retain the most intact carnivore communities. By mapping range contraction systematically, the work provided a global picture of decline and highlighted priority areas where carnivore guilds remain relatively complete. The findings reinforced that range loss, not just population decline, is a defining feature of the large-carnivore crisis. It matters for prioritization because identifying where carnivores persist, and where they have been lost, helps target conservation toward both safeguarding remaining strongholds and, potentially, restoring predators to areas of former range.