🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

This study uncovered a general relationship between the population density of carnivores and the availability of their prey, showing that across species roughly the same amount of prey biomass support…

Carbone, C., Gittleman, J. L. · Science · 2002

Hosey proposed a conceptual model of how relationships form between zoo animals and the humans around them, distinguishing the effects of unfamiliar visitors from those of familiar keepers. He argued…

Hosey GR · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2008

Miller and colleagues proposed that the diversity of behaviours an animal performs, not just the presence or absence of specific behaviours, can serve as an indicator of positive welfare, with higher…

Miller LJ, Vicino GA, Sheftel J, Lauderdale LK · Animals · 2020

Watters, Margulis and Atsalis advocated systematic, ongoing behavioural monitoring of individual zoo animals as a foundation for evidence-based husbandry. They described how regularly recording behavi…

Watters JV, Margulis SW, Atsalis S · Zoo Biology · 2009

Wang and Macdonald applied camera-trap capture-recapture to tigers and leopards in the high-altitude mountains of Bhutan, documenting the surprising presence of tigers at unusually high elevations and…

Sherub Wang, David W. Macdonald · Biological Conservation · 2009

Clubb and Mason analysed comparative data across 35 carnivore species to ask why some thrive in zoos while others pace and breed poorly. They found that wide-ranging species with large natural home ra…

Clubb R, Mason G · Nature · 2003

Skibiel, Trevino and Naugher systematically compared categories of enrichment, including food-based items, spices and scents, and novel objects, for captive cats to see which most effectively boosted…

Skibiel AL, Trevino HS, Naugher K · Zoo Biology · 2007

Margulis, Hoyos and Anderson examined the relationship between how active captive cats are and how long visitors watch them. Observing several felid species, they found that visitor interest, measured…

Margulis SW, Hoyos C, Anderson M · Zoo Biology · 2003

In this widely cited book chapter, Carlstead reviewed how captivity alters the behaviour of wild mammals, examining feeding, social, reproductive and anti-predator behaviours and the development of ab…

Carlstead K · Wild Mammals in Captivity (University of Chicago Press) · 1996

De Azevedo, Cipreste and Young surveyed the published enrichment literature to identify which taxa, enrichment types and research questions were well studied and which were neglected. They found resea…

de Azevedo CS, Cipreste CF, Young RJ · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2007

This study extended earlier work on feline melanism by surveying agouti signaling protein and melanocortin-1 receptor variation across wild cat species, including the leopard. The authors characterize…

Alexsandra Schneider, Eduardo Eizirik, et al. · PLoS ONE · 2012

McPhee tested whether feeding whole, intact carcasses rather than processed meat changes the behaviour of large captive cats. Providing carcasses increased feeding-related and active behaviours and al…

McPhee ME · Zoo Biology · 2002

Palomares and Caro compiled and analyzed the global record of carnivores killing other carnivores, establishing intraguild predation as a widespread structuring force. They showed that interspecific k…

Palomares, F. & Caro, T.M. · The American Naturalist · 1999

Hill and Broom reviewed the conceptual and practical challenges of assessing welfare in zoo animals, applying Broom's coping-based definition to the captive context. They surveyed the range of indicat…

Hill SP, Broom DM · Zoo Biology · 2009

Whitham and Wielebnowski argued that zoo welfare assessment should move beyond minimising negative states toward measuring and promoting positive welfare, and toward individual-level, continuous monit…

Whitham JC, Wielebnowski N · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2013

Mellor elaborated the Five Domains Model, which structures welfare assessment around four physical and functional domains, nutrition, environment, health and behaviour, that feed into a fifth, the ani…

Mellor DJ · Animals · 2017

Sinclair, Mduma and Brashares tested why some Serengeti ungulate species are regulated by predation while others are limited by food, using long-term data across the migratory and resident herbivore c…

Sinclair, A.R.E., Mduma, S. & Brashares, J.S. · Nature · 2003

Owen-Smith and Mills assembled a detailed predation web for Kruger National Park, quantifying which predators kill which prey and in what proportions across the size spectrum. They mapped how lion, le…

Owen-Smith, N. & Mills, M.G.L. · Journal of Animal Ecology · 2008

An overview of how molecular analysis of prey DNA in faeces is transforming the study of cat diets. By sequencing prey genetic material recovered from scats, researchers can identify prey to species w…

Lentiviruses related to domestic-cat FIV circulate widely in wild felid species including lions, pumas, leopards, and others, often at high seroprevalence yet apparently with limited disease in their…

High-resolution GPS tracking combined with accelerometers and other biologgers has transformed the study of how felids behave near people, enabling fine-scale analysis of movement, activity, energetic…

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…

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…

A survey of how cats do not take prey at random but select particular age and sex classes, with consequences for prey populations. Felids frequently kill disproportionately young, old or otherwise vul…

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…

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…

A survey of the two principal felid hunting strategies, stalk-and-ambush used by most cats and the high-speed pursuit of the cheetah, and their ecological consequences. Ambush predators rely on cover…

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…

Captive big cats commonly require dental procedures, especially for fractured canine teeth, and these interventions demand careful general anesthesia given the size, danger, and physiologic vulnerabil…