Research overview: surplus killing events in felids

An overview of documented cases in which cats kill more prey than they can eat, extending Kruuk's classic analysis to felids. Surplus killing in cats typically occurs when normal prey escape responses fail, for example among confined livestock in enclosures, snowbound or panicked prey, or dense flocks at night, so the predator's kill motivation is not switched off by prey flight. This survey synthesizes recorded events across leopards, lions, pumas, lynx and bobcats, the conditions that trigger them, and why surplus killing of penned livestock intensifies human-carnivore conflict. It connects to the behavioral basis of predation and to the management of depredation. The topic explains an often-misunderstood behavior as a byproduct of evolved hunting drive under unnatural permissive conditions rather than wanton waste.