Research overview: disease as an extinction driver in small felid populations

For tiny, isolated felid populations, infectious disease can pose an extinction-level threat that compounds genetic and demographic vulnerabilities. This overview surveys how disease drives extinction risk in small cat populations, drawing on cases like the Iberian lynx leukemia outbreak, distemper in low-density tigers, and the disease burden of the inbred Florida panther. It examines the modeling that links rare but lethal outbreaks to elevated extinction probability, the interaction of disease with inbreeding and small numbers, and the management implications for prioritizing disease prevention. The synthesis connects epidemiology to conservation biology. It aims to help readers understand that for the world’s most endangered cats, a single pathogen can imperil an entire population, making disease a central rather than peripheral concern in the struggle to prevent felid extinctions.