Research overview: facultative scavenging in big cats

A survey of the conditions under which big cats switch from hunting to scavenging, and what this means for their ecology. Although large felids lack the scavenging specializations of hyenas and vultures, they readily exploit carcasses when the energetic payoff is high and the risk low, such as during mass die-offs, severe winters or when they can displace smaller predators from kills. This overview synthesizes evidence on facultative scavenging across lions, tigers, leopards and pumas, the cues cats use to locate carrion, and how scavenging interacts with their normal predation. It considers how carrion availability can subsidize felid populations and shift their impact on live prey, and how recognizing facultative scavenging refines estimates of kill rates and predation pressure derived from carcass data.