Abstract: Degenerative spinal disorders, including intervertebral disc disease and spondylosis, seldom occur in domestic cats. In contrast, a retrospective study of 13 lions (Panthera leo), 16 tigers (Panthera tigris), 4 leopards (Panthera pardis), 1 snow leopard (Panthera uncia), and 3 jaguars (Panthera onca) from the Knoxville Zoo that died or were euthanatized from 1976 to 1996 indicated that degenerative spinal disease is an important problem in large nondomestic felids. The medical record, radiographic data, and the necropsy report of each animal were examined for evidence of intervertebral disc disease or spondylosis. Eight (three lions, four tigers, and one leopard) animals were diagnosed with degenerative spinal disease. Clinical signs included progressively decreased activity, moderate to severe rear limb muscle atrophy, chronic intermittent rear limb paresis, and ataxia. The age at onset of clinical signs was 10-19 yr (median = 18 yr). Radiographic evaluation of the spinal column was useful in assessing the severity of spinal lesions, and results were correlated with necropsy findings. Lesions were frequently multifocal, included intervertebral disc mineralization or herniation with collapsed intervertebral disc spaces, and were most common in the lumbar area but also involved cervical and thoracic vertebrae. Marked spondylosis was present in the cats with intervertebral disc disease, presumably subsequent to vertebral instability. Six of the animals' spinal cords were examined histologically, and five had acute or chronic damage to the spinal cord secondary to disc protrusion. Spinal disease should be suspected in geriatric large felids with decreased appetite or activity. Radiographic evaluation of the spinal column is the most useful method to assess the type and severity of spinal lesions.

Abstract: Claims poaching and competition with domestic livestock are threatening the argali's survival in Mongolia. The author's conducted aerial and ground surveys in the South Gobi and estimated a populaton size of approximately 3,900 argali.

Abstract: Large mammalian carnivores have undergone catastrophic declines during the Anthropocene across the world. Despite their pivotal roles as apex predators in food webs and ecosystem dynamics, few detailed di- etary datasets of large carnivores exist, prohibiting deep understanding of their coexistence and persistence in human-dominated landscapes. Here, we present fine-scaled, quantitative trophic interactions among sym- patric carnivores from three assemblages in the Mountains of Southwest China, a global biodiversity hotspot harboring the world’s richest large-carnivore diversity, derived from DNA metabarcoding of 1,097 fecal sam- ples. These assemblages comprise a large-carnivore guild ranging from zero to five species along with two mesocarnivore species. We constructed predator-prey food webs for each assemblage and identified 95 vertebrate prey taxa and 260 feeding interactions in sum. Each carnivore species consumed 6–39 prey taxa, and dietary diversity decreased with increased carnivore body mass across guilds. Dietary partitioning was more evident between large-carnivore and mesocarnivore guilds, yet different large carnivores showed divergent proportional utilization of different-sized prey correlating with their own body masses. Large car- nivores particularly selected livestock in Tibetan-dominated regions, where the indigenous people show high tolerance toward wild predators. Our results suggest that dietary niche partitioning and livestock subsidies facilitate large-carnivore sympatry and persistence and have key implications for sustainable conservation promoting human-carnivore coexistence.

Abstract: Indicates that snow leopard range includes all of Northern Bhutan

Abstract: Melengestrol acetate (MGA) is the most widely used contraceptive in zoo felids, but the mechanism of contraception and the pathologic effects have not been investigated. For this study, the effects of MGA on folliculogenesis were assessed, and the association of MGA with ovarian lesions was evaluated. Comparisons were made among the histopathologic findings in the ovaries from 88 captive wild felids (representing 15 species) divided into three groups: 37 currently contracepted with MGA, eight previously exposed to MGA, and 43 never contracepted. Ninety-one percent of the felids evaluated had tertiary follicles, and no differences were noted between contracepted and uncontracepted cats. Some MGA-contracepted cats also had corpora lutea indicating recent ovulation. These results indicate that folliculogenesis is not suppressed by current doses of MGA and ovulation occurred in some cats. Therefore, the contraceptive actions of MGA do not occur by suppressing folliculogenesis, and MGA-contracepted felids likely have endogenous estrogens that may confound progestin effects on the uterus. Cystic rete ovarii was the most common pathologic finding, but they were not more prevalent in MGA-contracepted cats. These findings indicate that MGA is not associated with ovarian disease, including ovarian cancer, in contrast to the uterine lesions noted in MGA-treated cats.