Research overview: stable isotope analysis of felid diets

A survey of how stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen and other elements in tissues reconstruct the diets and trophic positions of cats. Because isotopic signatures of prey are passed to predators and integrated over time, isotope analysis of hair, claw, bone or whisker segments reveals dietary proportions, reliance on grazers versus browsers, and dietary shifts across seasons or life stages, complementing scat and kill data. This overview synthesizes mixing-model approaches, the tissue-specific time windows they integrate, and applications to lions, leopards and other felids, including detection of livestock consumption and individual diet specialization. It connects biogeochemistry to predation ecology. The topic highlights a powerful, increasingly used tool for quantifying felid diet that captures longer-term patterns than direct observation.