🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Building on the prey-preference series, Hayward, O'Brien and Kerley developed regression models that predict the density a reserve can support for each large African predator from the available biomas…

Hayward, M.W., O'Brien, J. & Kerley, G.I.H. · Biological Conservation · 2007

This genomic study sequenced multiple Panthera species and found pervasive evidence that gene flow between lineages, not just simple branching, shaped big cat evolution. The authors detected introgres…

Figueiro HV, Li G, Trindade FJ, et al. · Science Advances · 2017

This comparative study applied trait ratings to multiple felid species, including domestic cats, African lions, snow leopards, clouded leopards, and Scottish wildcats, to ask whether personality dimen…

Marieke Gartner, David Powell, Alexander Weiss · Journal of Comparative Psychology · 2014

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

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.…

Behaviour offers a rich, non-invasive window into felid welfare, but interpreting it requires care. This overview surveys the behavioural signs used to assess captive cats: stereotypic pacing and rout…

This overview synthesises evidence that fortified, predator-proof livestock enclosures deliver benefits beyond stopping depredation, including improved livestock health, reduced theft, and easier mana…

Wild lions infected with feline immunodeficiency virus often carry additional pathogens, raising the possibility that FIV-related immune changes interact with co-infections. This overview surveys rese…

Wild felids rarely carry a single pathogen, and interactions among co-infecting agents can determine whether infection is benign or deadly. This overview surveys the concept of co-infection synergy in…

In induced-ovulating felids the chance that mating triggers ovulation rises with the number and spacing of copulations, suggesting a threshold of cumulative stimulation that the female's neuroendocrin…

Cats rarely face climate change in isolation; it interacts with habitat loss, fragmentation, hunting, disease, and conflict to produce cumulative impacts greater than any single threat. This overview…

Long-term study of marked lions has shown that many animals carry antibodies to canine distemper virus without dying, raising questions about when infection is lethal. This overview surveys research d…

Much pacing in captive big cats clusters in the period before scheduled feeding, suggesting that predictable meal times generate anticipatory arousal expressed as repetitive walking. This overview sur…

African lions carry their own feline immunodeficiency virus, FIV-Ple, which exists as several deeply divergent lineages that often co-circulate within and among populations. This overview synthesizes…

The lion's roar carries for kilometres and serves multiple social functions, from advertising territory ownership to locating and coordinating with pride mates. This overview surveys research on roari…

This overview synthesises research on how individual big cats develop man-eating behaviour, integrating evidence from Tsavo lions, Sundarbans and Champawat tigers, and Indian leopards. It reviews the…

No single indicator captures welfare reliably, so the field has moved toward integrated assessment combining multiple lines of evidence. This overview surveys how comprehensive welfare evaluation for…

Microsatellite genetic markers have made it possible to assign parentage in wild and captive cats, resolving questions about mating systems that behavior alone cannot answer. This overview surveys the…

Canine distemper in the Serengeti circulates not in a single species but across a community of carnivores including domestic dogs, jackals, hyenas and big cats. This overview examines research untangl…

Modern exhibit design aims to provide not just naturalistic appearance for visitors but genuine behavioural opportunity for animals. This overview surveys principles of felid exhibit design: complex,…

Where several large cats share a landscape, they coexist by partitioning resources along axes of prey size, habitat, and activity. This overview synthesizes research across continents showing how tige…

A challenging finding for felid welfare management is that stereotypic pacing, once established, can persist even after enclosures are enriched or enlarged, becoming partly independent of its original…

Rotational exhibit systems allow multiple species or individuals to take turns occupying a series of connected spaces, multiplying the effective territory and novelty available to each animal. This ov…

Infanticide 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…

Combining field observations with experiments using life-sized dummy lions, researchers tested what information a male's mane signals. Darker manes indicated higher testosterone and better nutrition,…

Peyton West, Craig Packer · Science · 2002