🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This overview examines the remarkable dispersal history of the lion lineage, which spread from an African and Eurasian heartland across the Northern Hemisphere during the Pleistocene. Cave lions, Pant…

This overview synthesises long-term research on lions ranging at the boundary of Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, where the park abuts communal farmland and trophy-hunting concessions. It reviews evide…

An overview of how resident lions respond to the dramatic seasonal pulses of migratory wildebeest and zebra that pass through their territories. Because lions are territorial and cannot follow the mig…

Lion territory size ranges from tens to many hundreds of square kilometers depending on prey density and water availability. This overview reviews radio-telemetry and GPS studies showing that prides i…

Kruger National Park supports one of the most studied savanna lion populations, offering insight into how large protected areas regulate big cat numbers. This overview reviews how prey availability, d…

Genetic studies have reshaped understanding of how lions are organized across their range, revealing deeper structure than the traditional African-Asiatic split implies. This overview surveys research…

A survey of the predator-prey relationship between lions and African buffalo, a preferred large prey whose size and defensive behavior make it both rewarding and dangerous to hunt. Lions, especially m…

This overview synthesises continental assessments of African lion decline, emphasising conflict-related mortality, prey depletion, and habitat loss as principal drivers. It reviews evidence that retal…

A recurring theme in lion movement research is the edge effect, the way protected-area boundaries shape mortality and movement, and this overview synthesizes the evidence. GPS telemetry shows that lio…

South Africa has reintroduced lions into numerous fenced reserves where they had been extirpated, creating a network of small, intensively managed populations. This overview surveys research on these…

Conservation strategy for lions increasingly centers on the concept of strongholds, large protected landscapes that hold robust, well-connected lion populations capable of long-term persistence. This…

The redrawing of lion subspecies along a north-south axis has direct regulatory consequences under CITES and the Red List. This overview explains how the recognition of the northern subspecies Panther…

Retaliatory and preemptive killing of lions by pastoralists protecting livestock is a leading cause of lion decline outside core protected areas. This overview surveys research on the drivers of depre…

As the largest African cat, the lion exerts strong intraguild pressure on cheetahs and leopards. This overview synthesizes research on how lions kill cheetah cubs and steal kills, forcing cheetahs int…

In the seasonally flooded Okavango Delta, lions face a landscape that shifts from dry ground to a maze of channels and islands. This overview reviews how delta prides adapt by wading and even swimming…

Lionesses in a pride often conceive and give birth at similar times, producing synchronized litters that are reared communally in a creche. This overview surveys the determinants of lion litter size a…

Where cats and livestock overlap, the distribution of herds and the layout of settlements shape predator movement, and this overview synthesizes telemetry insights relevant to conflict. GPS data show…

This overview examines documented cases of African lions making exceptional long-distance movements, often dispersing males that leave their natal prides and traverse great distances through human-dom…

One of the longest-running studies of any wild big cat, the decades-long monitoring of lions in the Serengeti ecosystem has produced foundational knowledge of lion biology and conservation. This overv…

A survey of how darkness and the lunar cycle influence the hunting success and behavior of largely nocturnal cats. Many felids hunt more successfully on dark nights when reduced visibility favors the…

As tracking datasets have grown to millions of points and multi-sensor streams, machine learning has become increasingly central to interpreting them. This overview surveys the application of supervis…

The major histocompatibility complex encodes immune-recognition molecules whose diversity is crucial for resisting pathogens, and its depletion is a key concern in inbred cat populations. This overvie…

Male cheetahs frequently form coalitions, most often of littermate brothers, that cooperate to hold territories and compete for mates. This overview synthesizes research showing that coalition males d…

The length of time a male coalition holds a pride is a master variable in lion ecology because it governs how many of their cubs survive to independence. This overview synthesizes research linking coa…

Young male lions leave their natal pride and enter a nomadic phase, often forming coalitions with brothers or peers before attempting to take over a pride. This overview surveys the process of male di…

Lion manes vary enormously in size and color, from the dark, heavy manes once attributed to Barbary and Cape lions to the sparse manes of some East African and Asiatic lions. This overview examines wh…

This overview examines the distinctive biology of Tsavo lions, including the prevalence of maneless or sparsely maned males, higher testosterone hypotheses, smaller more transient coalitions, and arid…

This overview focuses on what Paleolithic depictions and frozen specimens suggest about whether male cave lions had manes and how the animals behaved socially. Cave art rarely shows the prominent mane…

This overview synthesises research using spatial analysis to identify hotspots where big-cat attacks on livestock or people concentrate, enabling targeted mitigation. It reviews methods, kernel densit…

Cheetah mothers raise cubs alone through a long, demanding dependency marked by extremely high cub mortality, especially from predation. This overview surveys research on cheetah maternal care, includ…