🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This study compared the outbred Serengeti lion population with the small, geographically isolated Ngorongoro Crater population, which descended from few founders and experienced inbreeding. The author…

Wildt DE, Bush M, Goodrowe KL, Packer C, Pusey AE, Brown JL, Joslin P, O'Brien SJ · Nature · 1987

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist implants offer a reversible method of suppressing reproduction in cats by downregulating the reproductive axis after an initial stimulation. This overview survey…

As cats age, their reproductive output typically declines through reduced fertility, smaller litters, and lower offspring survival. This overview surveys patterns of age-related fertility decline acro…

When some individuals in a group reproduce while others are suppressed, the resulting asymmetry reflects social and physiological mechanisms regulating reproduction. This overview surveys asymmetric r…

Lionesses that give birth around the same time pool their cubs into a communal creche, nursing and defending young cooperatively. This overview surveys how creches form following synchronized births,…

Managing the size and genetics of captive felid populations sometimes requires preventing reproduction in animals that are genetically overrepresented or surplus to program needs. This overview survey…

In induced-ovulating felids the chance that mating triggers ovulation rises with the number and spacing of copulations, suggesting a threshold of cumulative stimulation that the female's neuroendocrin…

Female cats select sheltered den sites to give birth and protect altricial young during their most vulnerable weeks. This overview surveys how felid mothers choose dens that provide concealment and th…

The dispersal phase is among the most dangerous periods in a young cat's life, as subadults move through unfamiliar and often occupied or human-dominated terrain. This overview surveys evidence that d…

In felids housed or living in groups, social rank can influence which individuals reproduce and how successfully. This overview surveys how dominance hierarchies relate to reproduction in cats, includ…

Collecting semen from nondomestic cats usually requires electroejaculation under anesthesia, a standardized technique that allows evaluation and banking of sperm. This overview surveys how electroejac…

Female lions usually remain in their natal pride for life, producing prides composed of closely related females that cooperate in hunting and cub rearing. This overview surveys the pattern of female p…

Gestation in felids scales broadly with body size, ranging from roughly two months in small cats to around three and a half months in the largest species. This overview compiles comparative data on pr…

Sex-biased dispersal is widely interpreted as a mechanism that reduces the chance of mating with close relatives, helping felids avoid the fitness costs of inbreeding. This overview surveys evidence t…

Inbreeding in small captive populations can reduce fertility, increase juvenile mortality, and cause physical and reproductive abnormalities, collectively termed inbreeding depression. This overview s…

Microsatellite genetic markers have made it possible to assign parentage in wild and captive cats, resolving questions about mating systems that behavior alone cannot answer. This overview surveys the…

The composition of cat milk supports the rapid early growth of altricial young and changes over the course of lactation. This overview surveys what is known about the fat, protein, and energy content…

Progestin-based contraceptives have been used to suppress reproduction in captive cats, but concerns about side effects have shaped their use. This overview surveys the application of progestin contra…

Diseases of the reproductive tract, such as the uterine infection pyometra, affect fertility and welfare in domestic and nondomestic cats. This overview surveys reproductive tract pathology in felids,…

When males cooperate in coalitions, reproductive skew describes how evenly or unequally reproduction is divided among members. This overview surveys reproductive skew in felid coalitions, particularly…

Male reproductive success in cats depends on the ability to acquire and defend mating opportunities, which often declines with age as competitive ability wanes. This overview surveys how aging affects…

In some social or group-housed felids, subordinate individuals may experience reduced reproduction through social or physiological suppression. This overview surveys reproductive suppression in cats,…

The sex ratio of felid litters and any biases in maternal investment toward sons or daughters bear on population dynamics and evolutionary theory. This overview surveys evidence for sex ratio patterns…

Across felid species and populations, the quality of sperm morphology tends to correlate with the level of genetic diversity, linking population history to reproductive function. This overview surveys…

Many felids, especially genetically depauperate species like the cheetah, produce ejaculates with a high proportion of structurally abnormal sperm, a condition called teratospermia. This overview surv…

Reproductive hormone levels in male cats can vary seasonally and with social status, influencing semen quality and reproductive behavior. This overview surveys research on testosterone and related and…

Whether any felid experiences a true menopause, with reproduction ceasing well before the end of life, is a subject of comparative interest. This overview surveys the evidence and theory bearing on po…

Weaning marks the shift from dependence on maternal milk to consuming solid prey, a gradual transition whose timing varies with species and circumstances. This overview surveys weaning ages across the…