🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

The Andean cat appears to be a specialist predator of mountain vizcachas, colonial rodents of rocky high-Andean slopes, and this overview reviews the evidence and its implications. Diet studies and th…

The Canada lynx is exquisitely adapted to hunting in deep snow, and this overview reviews the traits behind that specialization. Very large, well-furred paws act as snowshoes, spreading the cat weight…

The Canada lynx is among the most striking examples of a specialist predator coupled to a single prey, and this overview reviews the classic lynx-hare cycle. Across the boreal forest, lynx populations…

This overview examines the southern range limit of the Canada lynx and its vulnerability to climate change. The species is closely tied to boreal forest with deep, persistent snow and abundant snowsho…

This overview examines the activity and spatial ecology of the Eurasian lynx, drawn from extensive GPS-telemetry research. The species is largely crepuscular and nocturnal, maintaining very large home…

The Eurasian lynx is the largest of the lynxes and the most widely distributed, ranging across the forests of Europe, the Caucasus, and Siberia into central and eastern Asia. This overview compiles re…

Across much of its range the Eurasian lynx is a specialist predator of small ungulates, and this overview synthesizes studies showing roe deer as the principal prey in Europe, supplemented by chamois,…

The return of the Eurasian lynx to parts of western and central Europe, through both natural recolonization and deliberate reintroduction, is a notable conservation story, and this overview reviews it…

The recovery of the Iberian lynx rests heavily on a coordinated captive-breeding and reintroduction program, and this overview reviews its components. Captive centers in Spain and Portugal have bred l…

The Iberian lynx is an extreme dietary specialist, relying on the European rabbit for the great majority of its diet, and this overview reviews the consequences of that dependence. Where rabbits are a…

The Iberian lynx, once the world most endangered cat, has staged a remarkable recovery, and this overview reviews its changing distribution. Reduced to a few hundred animals in two isolated population…

Having passed through a severe bottleneck, the Iberian lynx carries very low genetic diversity, and this overview reviews research on the resulting risks. Studies document signs of inbreeding, includi…

The bobcat is a versatile predator, and this overview synthesizes diet studies showing rabbits and hares as the dietary mainstay across much of the range, supplemented by rodents, birds, reptiles, and…

The bobcat is the most widespread wild cat in North America, ranging from southern Canada through the United States into Mexico across an extraordinary variety of habitats. This overview compiles reco…

This overview compares the four lynx species, the Eurasian, Canada, Iberian, and the bobcat, highlighting how a shared body plan has diversified across habitats and prey. All share short tails, ear tu…

Genetic tools have become central to small-cat conservation, and this overview reviews their applications. Non-invasive sampling of scats and hair allows researchers to confirm the presence of cryptic…

This synthesis reviews the conservation standing of the lynxes as a group, which spans nearly the full range of extinction risk. The bobcat and Eurasian lynx are broadly secure, the latter recovering…