The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids

The editors utilize their 50 years of combined experience in professional engagement with the behaviour and ecology of wild felids to draw together a unique network of the world's most respected and knowledgeable experts. For the first time, this inter-disciplinary research programme is brought together within a single volume. Beginning with a complete account of all 36 felid species, there follow 8 comprehensive review chapters that span all the topics most relevant to felid conservation science, including evolution and systematics, felid form and function, genetic applications, behavioural ecology, management of species that come into conflict with people and control of international trade in felid species, conservation tools/techniques, ex situ management, and felid diseases. 19 detailed case studies then delve deeply into syntheses of the very best species investigations worldwide, written by all the leading figures in the field. These chapters portray the unique attributes of the wild felids, describe their fascinating (and conflicting) relationship with humans, and create an unparalleled platform for future research and conservation measures. A final chapter analyses the requirements of, and inter-disciplinary approaches to, practical conservation with cutting-edge examples of conservation science and action that go far beyond the cat family. ... surely destined to be the key reference point on a subject which is currently featuring high on international agendas for conservation priorities ... This global coverage ... encompassing both the large and small felids, is especially refreshing, and results in an almost encyclopaedic coverage. It could serve as a model for reference works on other groups of organisms of conservation importance. Biodiversity and ConservationPreface; PART I - REVIEWS; 1. Dramatis personae: an introduction to the wild felids; 2. Phylogeny and evolution of cats (Felidae); 3. Felid form and function; 4. Genetic applications in wild felids; 5. Felid society; 6. People and wild felids: conservation of cats and management of conflicts; 7. Many ways of skinning a cat: tools and techniques for studying wild felids; 8. Felids ex situ for managed programmes, research, and species recovery; 9. Wild felid diseases: conservation implications and management strategies; PART II - CASE STUDIES; 10. Ecology of infectious diseases in Serengeti lions; 11. African lions on the edge: reserve boundaries as 'attractive sinks'; 12. Tiger range collapse and recovery at the base of the Himalayas; 13. The Amur tiger: a case study of living on the edge; 14. An adaptive management approach to trophy hunting of leopards Panthera pardus: a case study from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; 15. Cheetahs and ranchers in Namibia: a case study; 16. Past, present and future of cheetahs in Tanzania: their behavioural ecology and conservation; 17. Jaguars, livestock and people in Brazil: realities and perceptions behind the conflict; 18. The ecology of jaguars in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Belize; 19. Snow leopards, conflict, and conservation; 20. Pumas and people: lessons in the landscape of tolerance from a widely distributed felid; 21. Long term research on the Florida panther (Puma concolor coryi): historical findings and future obstacles to population persistence; 22. Reversing cryptic extinction: the history, present and future of the Scottish wildcat; 23. The changing impact of predation as a source of conflict between hunters and reintroduced lynx in Switzerland; 24. Iberian lynx: the uncertain future of a critically endangered cat; 25. Cyclical dynamics and behaviour of Canada lynx in northern Canada; 26. Black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) and African wild cats (Felis silvestris): a comparison of two small felids from South African arid lands; 27. Ocelot ecology and its effect on the small-felid guild in the lowland Neotropics; 28. Highland cats: ecology and conservation of the rare and elusive Andean cat; PART III - CONCLUSIONS; 29. Felid Futures: crossing disciplines, borders, and generations; References; Index