For students and researchers: the papers behind BigCatWise

How to use this list

• Click a DOI to open the paper's official page. Many abstracts are free to read; full text may need a library login.
• Each entry links to the BigCatWise article that explains the findings in plain English.
• For species facts such as weights and population estimates, our main source is the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group species pages, linked from each species page.

Vocal anatomy and roaring

• Weissengruber, G. E., Forstenpointner, G., Peters, G., Kübber-Heiss, A., and Fitch, W. T. (2002). Hyoid apparatus and pharynx in the lion (Panthera leo), jaguar (Panthera onca), tiger (Panthera tigris), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and domestic cat (Felis silvestris f. catus). Journal of Anatomy, 201(3), 195-209. doi:10.1046/j.1469-7580.2002.00088.x
  Used in: Which big cats can roar?
• Klemuk, S. A., Riede, T., Walsh, E. J., and Titze, I. R. (2011). Adapted to roar: functional morphology of tiger and lion vocal folds. PLoS ONE, 6(11), e27029. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027029
  Used in: Which big cats can roar?

Cheetah locomotion and physiology

• Wilson, A. M., Lowe, J. C., Roskilly, K., Hudson, P. E., Golabek, K. A., and McNutt, J. W. (2013). Locomotion dynamics of hunting in wild cheetahs. Nature, 498(7453), 185-189. doi:10.1038/nature12295
  Used in: How fast is a cheetah?
• Hetem, R. S., Mitchell, D., de Witt, B. A., Fick, L. G., Meyer, L. C. R., Maloney, S. K., and Fuller, A. (2013). Cheetah do not abandon hunts because they overheat. Biology Letters, 9(5), 20130472. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2013.0472
  Used in: How fast is a cheetah?

Coat colour and camouflage

• Fennell, J. G., Talas, L., Baddeley, R. J., Cuthill, I. C., and Scott-Samuel, N. E. (2019). Optimizing colour for camouflage and visibility using deep learning: the effects of the environment and the observer's visual system. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 16(154), 20190183. doi:10.1098/rsif.2019.0183
  Used in: Why do tigers have stripes?

Lion social behavior

• Packer, C., Scheel, D., and Pusey, A. E. (1990). Why lions form groups: food is not enough. The American Naturalist, 136(1), 1-19. doi:10.1086/285079
  Used in: Why do lions live in prides?
• Packer, C., Gilbert, D. A., Pusey, A. E., and O'Brien, S. J. (1991). A molecular genetic analysis of kinship and cooperation in African lions. Nature, 351, 562-565. doi:10.1038/351562a0
  Used in: Why do lions live in prides?
• Heinsohn, R., and Packer, C. (1995). Complex cooperative strategies in group-territorial African lions. Science, 269(5228), 1260-1262. doi:10.1126/science.7652573
  Used in: Why do lions live in prides?

Tiger territory and home range

• Goodrich, J. M., Miquelle, D. G., Smirnov, E. N., Kerley, L. L., Quigley, H. B., and Hornocker, M. G. (2010). Spatial structure of Amur (Siberian) tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) on Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik, Russia. Journal of Mammalogy, 91(3), 737-748. doi:10.1644/09-MAMM-A-293.1
  Used in: How big is a tiger's territory?
• Simcharoen, A., Savini, T., Gale, G. A., Simcharoen, S., Duangchantrasiri, S., Pakpien, S., and Smith, J. L. D. (2014). Female tiger Panthera tigris home range size and prey abundance: important metrics for management. Oryx, 48(3), 370-377. doi:10.1017/S0030605312001408
  Used in: How big is a tiger's territory?
• Barlow, A. C. D., Smith, J. L. D., Ahmad, I. U., Hossain, A. N. M., Rahman, M., and Howlader, A. (2011). Female tiger Panthera tigris home range size in the Bangladesh Sundarbans: the value of this mangrove ecosystem for the species' conservation. Oryx, 45(1), 125-128. doi:10.1017/S0030605310001456
  Used in: How big is a tiger's territory?

Leopard feeding and kill caching

• Balme, G. A., Miller, J. R. B., Pitman, R. T., and Hunter, L. T. B. (2017). Caching reduces kleptoparasitism in a solitary, large felid. Journal of Animal Ecology, 86(3), 634-644. doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12654
  Used in: Why do leopards drag their kills into trees?
• Hayward, M. W., Henschel, P., O'Brien, J., Hofmeyr, M., Balme, G., and Kerley, G. I. H. (2006). Prey preferences of the leopard (Panthera pardus). Journal of Zoology, 270(2), 298-313. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00139.x
  Used in: Why do leopards drag their kills into trees?

Population status and conservation

• Durant, S. M., Mitchell, N., Groom, R., et al. (2017). The global decline of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and what it means for conservation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(3), 528-533. doi:10.1073/pnas.1611122114
  Used in: How many big cats are left?

Reference organisations

• IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group: species accounts and status summaries for all wild cats.
• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: official conservation assessments.

References are formatted in APA style. DOIs verified on Crossref on 8 and 11 October 2026. If you find a broken link or an error, email joshuaofisrael@gmail.com.