🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This landmark study documented the catastrophic 1994 canine distemper virus (CDV) outbreak that killed roughly a third of the Serengeti lion population, an estimated 1,000 lions, along with leopards,…

M. Roelke-Parker, L. Munson, C. Packer, et al. · Nature · 1996

This study characterized the lentivirus circulating in free-ranging African lions and confirmed it as a distinct feline immunodeficiency virus lineage (FIV-Ple) related to but divergent from the domes…

E. W. Brown, N. Yuhki, C. Packer, S. J. O’Brien · Journal of Virology · 1994

This influential study used feline immunodeficiency virus as a fast-evolving genetic marker to reconstruct the population history of its puma hosts in the American West. Because the virus mutates far…

R. Biek, A. J. Drummond, M. Poss · Science · 2006

This study linked an epizootic of severe notoedric mange in urban bobcats and mountain lions to exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides. By combining disease surveillance, necropsy and toxicology in ra…

S. P. D. Riley, C. Bromley, R. H. Poppenga, et al. · Journal of Wildlife Management · 2007

Building on earlier behavioral findings, this study showed with controlled experiments that Toxoplasma gondii infection in rats and mice specifically abolishes innate fear of cat odor while leaving ot…

A. Vyas, S.-K. Kim, N. Giacomini, et al. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2007

This study resolved a long-standing puzzle: why the 1994 Serengeti CDV epidemic was lethal while earlier CDV exposures left lions seropositive but alive. By integrating decades of serology, climate re…

L. Munson, K. A. Terio, R. Kock, et al. · PLoS ONE · 2008

This study connected the felid-shed parasite Toxoplasma gondii to deaths of threatened southern sea otters along the California coast. Because cats are the only definitive hosts that shed environmenta…

M. A. Miller, I. A. Gardner, C. Kreuder, et al. · International Journal for Parasitology · 2002

This influential review synthesized how emerging infectious diseases threaten wildlife, including charismatic carnivores, and intersect with human and domestic-animal health. The authors framed diseas…

P. Daszak, A. A. Cunningham, A. D. Hyatt · Science · 2000

Focusing on a well-studied cougar population, this study characterized the prevalence, genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of endemic feline immunodeficiency virus in wild pumas. By sampling i…

R. Biek, T. K. Ruth, K. M. Murphy, et al. · Journal of Virology · 2003

This study described a feline leukemia virus (FeLV) outbreak in the endangered Florida panther, a small, inbred puma population. Through surveillance testing, the authors detected progressive FeLV inf…

M. W. Cunningham, M. A. Brown, D. B. Shindle, et al. · Journal of Wildlife Diseases · 2008

This classic experiment tested whether the felid parasite Toxoplasma gondii manipulates rodent behavior to favor transmission back to its definitive cat host. The authors found that infected rats lost…

M. Berdoy, J. P. Webster, D. W. Macdonald · Proceedings of the Royal Society B · 2000

This study documented a feline leukemia virus (FeLV) outbreak in the critically endangered Iberian lynx population of Donana, Spain. Through field surveillance, molecular diagnostics and pathology, th…

M. L. Meli, V. Cattori, F. Martínez, et al. · PLoS ONE · 2009

This study documented the first confirmed natural SARS-CoV-2 infections in big cats, occurring in tigers and lions at the Bronx Zoo early in the COVID-19 pandemic. After several cats developed respira…

D. McAloose, M. Laverack, L. Wang, et al. · mBio · 2020

This landmark study documented extreme genetic uniformity in cheetahs, with the species showing almost no variation at many loci and accepting reciprocal skin grafts as if genetically identical. The a…

S. J. O’Brien, M. E. Roelke, L. Marker, et al. · Science · 1985

Challenging the assumption that FIV is harmless in its natural hosts, this study examined wild African lions for clinical and pathological signs associated with feline immunodeficiency virus infection…

M. E. Roelke, J. Pecon-Slattery, S. Taylor, et al. · Virology · 2009

This study investigated feline coronavirus infection in cheetahs after a devastating outbreak of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) struck a captive cheetah facility with unusually high mortality. By…

J. L. Heeney, A. J. Evermann, A. J. McKeirnan, et al. · Journal of Virology · 1990

Cytauxzoon felis is a tick-transmitted protozoan that causes a frequently fatal disease in domestic cats, with bobcats serving as the natural reservoir host. This overview synthesizes the parasite’s l…

Captive cheetahs suffer unusually high rates of chronic gastritis associated with Helicobacter infection, a condition far more severe than in most other felids and a significant cause of morbidity in…

Hepatozoon is a tick-associated protozoan parasite, transmitted not by tick bite but by ingestion of infected ticks, that commonly infects wild felids including lions. This overview surveys the biolog…

Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, established itself in Kruger National Park after spilling from cattle into African buffalo, and lions preying on infected buffalo became widely expo…

Many of the most important felid diseases, from distemper to leukemia virus to Toxoplasma, originate at the interface of domestic animals, wildlife and people, making them quintessential One Health pr…

Following the Bronx Zoo tigers, SARS-CoV-2 infections were confirmed in big cats at zoos and sanctuaries across multiple countries, including additional tigers, lions, snow leopards, pumas and others.…

Sarcocystis parasites cycle between predator definitive hosts and prey intermediate hosts, with felids shedding infective stages after eating cysts in muscle. This overview surveys the role of wild ca…

Spirometra tapeworms use felids and other carnivores as definitive hosts, while their larval stages, known as spargana, infect a wide range of intermediate and paratenic hosts, including amphibians, r…

Toxocara cati and related ascarid roundworms are among the most common parasites of cats, with wild felids shedding eggs that contribute to environmental contamination and pose a zoonotic risk to peop…

Research into how Toxoplasma alters host behavior has implicated changes in neurotransmitter and hormone systems, particularly dopamine and testosterone. This overview surveys findings that the parasi…

Serosurveys consistently reveal high Toxoplasma exposure in wild felids, reflecting their role as both definitive hosts and predators of infected prey. This overview synthesizes prevalence patterns ac…

African lions and other wild felids can be infected with Trypanosoma, tsetse-transmitted protozoan parasites better known for causing sleeping sickness in humans and nagana in livestock. This overview…

Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, circulates among rodents in the American West, and mountain lions become exposed by preying on infected rodents and lagomorphs. This overview…

Unlike many viruses spread by casual contact, feline immunodeficiency virus is transmitted chiefly through biting during fights, tying its epidemiology to felid social behavior. This overview surveys…