Research overview: genetic rescue as a conservation strategy for felids

Genetic rescue refers to deliberately introducing individuals from another population to boost the fitness of a small, inbred population through new genetic variation. This overview surveys the concept as applied to cats, with the Florida panther as the canonical success, and considers when and how managers weigh the benefits of restored heterozygosity against the theoretical risk of outbreeding depression or loss of local adaptation. It discusses how genomic tools now allow precise monitoring of admixture and genetic load, the importance of restoring historical connectivity rather than creating artificial mixtures, and how lessons from felids inform rescue planning for other endangered carnivores.