🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Vaz, Narayan and colleagues surveyed tigers and leopards across multiple Indian zoos, combining behavioural observation of pacing with non-invasive faecal cortisol measurement. They found substantial…

Vaz J, Narayan EJ, Dileep Kumar R, Thenmozhi K, Thiyagesan K, Baskaran N · PLoS ONE · 2017

Extending the prey-preference framework to Asia's largest cat, Hayward and colleagues compiled tiger kill records across the species' range and weighted them against prey availability. Tigers showed a…

Hayward, M.W., Jedrzejewski, W. & Jedrzejewska, B. · Journal of Zoology · 2012

A landmark study of intraguild prey partitioning in India's Nagarahole reserve, combining prey censuses with predator kill records to test how three sympatric large carnivores divide a shared ungulate…

Karanth, K.U. & Sunquist, M.E. · Journal of Animal Ecology · 1995

Gopalaswamy and colleagues released SPACECAP, free software implementing Bayesian spatially explicit capture-recapture specifically to make modern density estimation accessible to camera-trap practiti…

Arjun M. Gopalaswamy, J. Andrew Royle, James E. Hines, Pallavi Singh, Devcharan Jathanna, et al. · Methods in Ecology and Evolution · 2012

This landmark genetic study explained the long-noted fact that cats show little interest in sweet foods. The researchers found that cats carry a defective, non-functional version of Tas1r2, one of the…

Xia Li, Weihua Li, Hong Wang, et al. · PLoS Genetics · 2005

This overview reviews human-tiger conflict involving Amur (Siberian) tigers in the Russian Far East and northeast China, a low-density, cold-forest population. It synthesises studies of livestock and…

The Amur tiger of the Russian Far East and northeast China recovered from near-extinction in the mid-twentieth century to a stable population spread across vast temperate forests. This overview survey…

This overview synthesizes telemetry research on Amur, or Siberian, tigers in the Russian Far East, where GPS collars have revealed enormous home ranges, long movements through snow-bound boreal forest…

The Amur tiger inhabits the temperate and boreal forests of the Russian Far East and northeast China, a very different climate context from tropical tiger populations. This overview surveys how climat…

Amur tigers inhabit the cold temperate forests of the Russian Far East, where low prey density forces them to range over enormous areas. This overview reviews radio-telemetry and GPS studies showing t…

This overview synthesizes decades of telemetry on Amur tigers in the temperate forests of the Russian Far East, where long-term collaring programs have revealed enormous home ranges, seasonal movement…

This overview reviews the development of geographic information system (GIS) databases and surveillance systems that systematically record big-cat conflict incidents for analysis and management. It sy…

Every GPS collar embodies a compromise: more frequent fixes reveal finer movement detail but drain the battery faster, shortening the tracking period. This overview examines how researchers schedule f…

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…

This overview synthesises the international guidance developed under the IUCN's human-wildlife conflict and coexistence efforts, which distil principles and good practice for managing conflict involvi…

This overview examines the science and management history of India's Project Tiger, launched in 1973, and the expanding network of tiger reserves it created. Researchers have studied how core-buffer z…

India conducts one of the world's largest wildlife monitoring exercises, a periodic national tiger assessment that combines landscape-scale occupancy surveys with intensive camera trapping to estimate…

The One Welfare concept recognises that animal welfare, human wellbeing and the environment are interconnected, a framing increasingly applied to those who care for captive cats. This overview surveys…

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.…

The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool, known as SMART, is widely deployed in tiger reserves to make ranger patrols data-driven. This overview surveys research evaluating how recording patrol route…

Tiger range across Southeast Asia has collapsed dramatically, with several countries losing breeding populations to deforestation, infrastructure, and hunting. This overview surveys the regional patte…

The mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, shared by India and Bangladesh, support a unique tiger population adapted to a tidal, saline, swimming-intensive environment. This overview surveys research on…

While pacing dominates discussion of felid stereotypy, captive cats display a range of other abnormal repetitive behaviours that signal welfare problems. This overview surveys these: route-tracing and…

Genuine sanctuaries provide lifetime care for rescued big cats without breeding, commercial public contact or trade, distinguishing themselves from roadside attractions through formal standards. This…

Tigers are largely crepuscular and nocturnal, though their activity shifts with prey, temperature, and human presence. This overview synthesizes camera-trap and telemetry studies showing peaks of move…

Tiger cubs remain with their mother for an extended period, learning to hunt before dispersing to establish their own ranges. This overview surveys data on the age at which young tigers become indepen…

A growing body of welfare thinking holds that giving animals control over their environment, the ability to make choices and influence outcomes, is itself a key contributor to good welfare. This overv…

Expanding agricultural frontiers, soy and cattle in South America, oil palm in Southeast Asia, smallholder farming in Africa and Asia, are among the largest drivers of habitat loss for wild cats. This…

Atipamezole, an alpha-2 adrenergic antagonist, reverses the sedative and immobilizing effects of medetomidine and dexmedetomidine, allowing controlled and rapid recovery from anesthetic protocols that…

Chemical immobilisation is sometimes unavoidable for examining or treating large carnivores, but it carries welfare and mortality risks and is itself stressful. This overview surveys the welfare consi…