Research overview: studbook management of captive felid populations

Studbooks record the pedigree and demographic history of every individual in a managed population, providing the data needed to plan breeding for genetic and demographic health. This overview surveys how felid studbooks are compiled and used to track ancestry, calculate relatedness, and generate breeding recommendations that minimize inbreeding and retain founder diversity. It reviews the cooperative structure of regional and international programs and the analytical tools applied to studbook data. The review connects studbooks to assisted reproduction and biobanking, which extend the options for moving genetics. Understanding studbook management is fundamental to felid conservation breeding, since coordinated, data-driven planning is what keeps small captive populations genetically viable over many generations.