Research library
🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries
AI-curated summaries for the pride’s library — verify citations independently before citing.
9 summaries matching “leopard” on felids
Research overview: camouflage, coat patterning, and the development of spots and stripes
OverviewCat coats are often patterned for concealment, and this overview reviews the function and development of spots, stripes, and rosettes. Patterns such as the tiger stripes and leopard rosettes break up…
Research overview: cold tolerance, fur insulation, and winter physiology in cats
OverviewSome cats endure cold climates, and this overview reviews how they tolerate low temperatures. Cold-climate cats rely on dense, insulating fur, including seasonal thickening, on conserving core heat th…
Research overview: comparative vocal repertoires across the cat family
OverviewFelid species differ in their vocal repertoires, and comparative bioacoustics has sought to map these differences onto phylogeny and ecology. This overview surveys work cataloguing call types across s…
Research overview: discrimination learning and cognition in big cats
OverviewCaptive big cats have become subjects of cognitive testing that reveals their learning abilities and informs enrichment. This overview surveys research using touchscreen and apparatus-based discrimina…
Research overview: evolution and phylogeny of vocal anatomy across the cat family
OverviewVocal abilities are distributed across the felid family tree in informative ways, and this overview reviews the evolution of cat vocal anatomy. Mapping hyoid structure and laryngeal features onto feli…
Research overview: melanism and the recurrence of black coats across wild cats
OverviewBlack, or melanistic, coats appear repeatedly in wild cats, and this overview reviews this phenomenon and its causes. Melanism, seen famously in black leopards and jaguars, results from genetic varian…
Research overview: sexually selected infanticide across felids
OverviewInfanticide by males is documented or inferred across many felid species, from lions to tigers, leopards, pumas, and others, wherever killing dependent young can hasten a female's next conception. Thi…
Research overview: temperament and breeding success in captive felids
OverviewIn endangered cats, individual temperament can determine reproductive success and welfare in managed-care programs. This overview surveys research extending the cheetah findings to other species, exam…
Research overview: why big cats roar but cannot purr continuously, and vice versa
OverviewThe roaring big cats and the purring small cats appear to form complementary groups, and this overview reviews the basis and limits of this divide. The flexible, incompletely ossified hyoid and specia…